FROM THE DEPTHS
by Kim Dreamcatcher
Summary: *PART 14 UP* (Co-written with Wulipix) The Digi-Destined are called back to the Digiworld with four new kids to fight a new evil
1. Return to the Digiworld

FROM THE DEPTHS

**Part 1: Return to the Digiworld**

The sun set across the sky and created a picture-perfect sunset. However, the redhead boy failed to notice this amazing view from his bedroom window. He was too busy typing away on his computer. A sound informed the boy that he had an email.

"I wonder what it could be?" Izzy asked himself. He opened up the email, which read:

"Izzy, my boy, I'm afraid I have bad news. There's some trouble brewing here in the Digiworld. A new evil Digimon has been trying to take over. You should be able to find four kids that might help you out with this new evil. I'm sending you their crests and digivices through this email. Just click on the attached file. Without these four kids, you might find yourself in a jam and not be able to defeat this new evil. Oh, shoot! Coffee's done. Gotta go now! Gennai."

Izzy clicked on a file, which was attached to the email. Suddenly, eight small objects shot out of his computer screen and landed on his bed. Izzy took a quick glance at the objects, then grabbed his cell phone and started to dial a phone number. A few moments later, he could hear it ringing.

After three or four rings, a click was heard, then a woman's voice answered, "Hello? This is the Kamiya residence. How may I help you?"

"Good evening, Mrs. Kamiya. This is Izzy Izumi. Is Tai at home?" Izzy asked Tai's mother...

The bus slightly bumped as it drove through the streets of Japan. However, the black-haired boy didn't even notice it as he stared out the window. It was great to finally be back home again.

_Home._

The thought stuck in the boy's mind. Was that really where he was? Was this really his home?

_Of course not, I was never welcomed here,_ his mind argued.

How long had it been since he was last in Japan?

_Four years now,_ his mind reminded him.

The bus stopped for a moment to pick up more passengers. A soft plop told him that someone took the seat right next to him. Zack didn't bother to look away from the window, however.

"Hiya," a cheery voice greeted. When Zack didn't respond, the voice started again.

"Hello! I'm talking to you! Don't pretend you didn't hear me," the voice demanded, getting louder with each word.

Zack turned to have a look at his current companion. It was a boy around his age, with sandy blond hair. The kid was crossing his arms in agitation.

"Hi," was the short reply as Zack turned his head back towards the window.

"See? It doesn't kill ya to talk," the kid replied. "What's your name? Mine's Satori, Yuuchi. Nice to meet you."

"Zack." It was his adopted American name that he had given himself. He despised his Japanese name and wouldn't respond to it.

"Gee, you don't talk much, do you?" Yuuchi asked.

Zack ignored this and noticed it was his stop. He was glad to get away from this annoying boy who didn't seem to shut up. Grabbing everything he had brought with him, he climbed off the bus and walked the short distance to his home.

Yuuchi watched the kid with silent eyes. He could tell that the boy wanted nothing but to be left alone. But he wasn't going to let it be that way. He shrugged his shoulders and stared at the roof of the bus, satisfied with the current silence...

"Yes, Mimi. You have to go!" Izzy remarked sternly on the phone. "All of us have to go, including four new Digi-Destined. Who? Well, I'm not exactly sure...Gennai never mentioned any names in his email. Don't worry, we'll find them. Remember that we're meeting at the park at 12 PM tomorrow. Don't be late! Good night, Mimi." He hung up the phone, stretched out his arms, and yawned. Izzy glanced at his clock and noticed it was 11:15.

Izzy had finally finished calling all of his friends. Now, it was a matter of finding the kids that Gennai mentioned.

_Where could they be? How come Gennai didn't mention them earlier?_

Similar questions flew through his mind. They had agreed to split up into groups to find the kids. Then afterwards, they would return to the Digiworld and face whatever new danger plagued its existence. He couldn't wait to see Tentomon again. They had only been gone a couple of days now. But it must have been years to the Digimon. Plenty of time for whatever new evil lurking in the Digiworld to take over. Izzy yawned again.

_Plenty of time to think this all over tomorrow._ With that thought, Izzy climbed into his bed and fell asleep...

It was half past noon the next day at the park, where the kids agreed to meet. Everyone was sitting on the grass in a circle, while Izzy was standing.

"It's vital that we find these four Digi-Destined before we depart for the Digiworld," Izzy explained.

"But, how are we gonna find them, Izzy?" Sora asked. "It's like looking for a needle in a haystack."

"These should help us out," Izzy explained as he opened his backpack and pulled out four digivices. Everyone gasped when they saw the digivices.

"How did you get those?" Tai blurted out.

"Gennai sent them to me last night through my computer, along with these." Izzy reached into his backpack again and pulled out four tags, complete with crests.

"If anybody doesn't mind, I plan on holding onto the crests for safekeeping, until we find their owners," Izzy advised as he carefully placed the crests back in his backpack. "Okay, we have agreed earlier to split up into teams of two. Tai's with Kari, Matt's with T.K., Sora's with Joe, and I'm with Mimi."

"All right. Let's get going," Tai exclaimed as he and everyone else stood up.

"Wait a minute!" Izzy yelled.

Tai groaned and asked, "What now, Izzy?"

"It would be best if each team carries one of these digivices," he suggested as he handed a digivice to Kari, Matt, and Sora. "They will indicate if one of the Digi-Destined is in the area."

"That will help out a lot," Kari remarked.

"How about we meet back here in an hour. Okay, everyone?" Tai asked. Everyone nodded in approval. While the others left to search the city, Matt and T.K. decided to stay in the park and look around.

"Matt, why are we looking in the park?" T.K. asked his older brother.

"Truth is, I'm not really sure," Matt admitted. "I have a strange feeling that one of them is right here." Suddenly, the digivice in Matt's hand started to vibrate.

"What is it, Matt?" T.K. asked when he realized Matt stopped walking. He slowly walked around in a circle, watching the digivice as he walked.

Matt stopped when the vibration became stronger. "This way!" he exclaimed as he ran off, with T.K. following as fast as he could...

A young girl was sitting on a park bench, reading a book. She took a quick glance at her watch and sighed.

"What's taking her so long?" she murmured as she continued to read. She tucked a small lock of her long chestnut hair behind her ear. Two small black scrungies held a small pair of pigtails in place. Her amethyst eyes looked up from her book. She heard some rustling from a nearby bush. After a minute, she shrugged her shoulders.

"Must have been the wind," she told herself. She looked up again when two young boys emerged from the bushes. She could tell that they were brothers. The taller one around her age was looking at something in his hand, while the smaller boy watched...

"Hey, Matt," T.K. yelled, pulling on his brother's shirt.

"What is it?" Matt asked. He bent down on one knee and T.K. whispered in his ear.

"Is that her?"

"Who?" Matt whispered.

"That girl over there!" T.K. whispered. "Is she the one we're looking for?"

Matt looked up and took a quick glance at the girl sitting on the bench. _Strange,_ he thought. _I have some strange feeling that I've seen her somewhere before._

Matt shook off the feeling and looked back down at his brother. "Could be, T.K.," he whispered. "She's the only one here and..."

"Can I help you with something?" they heard the girl ask. She had gotten up from the bench and was walking toward them. She was wearing a purple T- shirt with a pink crescent moon on the front, baggy black cargo shorts, and short black hiking boots.

Matt noticed that the digivice's vibrations became stronger as the girl came closer. He decided to make sure that she was indeed one of the Digi-Destined. A plan quickly formed in his head.

"I haven't seen you around before. Are you new here?" Matt asked.

"Yes, I am," the girl replied with a smile. "I'm Marisa."

"I'm Matt, and this is my little brother, T.K.," Matt introduced. He extended his hand to Marisa, which contained the digivice.

"Nice to meet you," Marisa admitted as she took Matt's hand to shake it. Suddenly, a rainbow-like glow emerged from the digivice.

_Marisa's definitely one of us,_ Matt thought to himself.

Shocked by what had just happened, Marisa quickly let go of Matt's hand, causing the digivice to fall to the ground. "What was that?" she asked...

Meanwhile, a young girl was roller blading down the sidewalk as fast as she could.

"Sorry!" she yelled as she bumped into a young man. "I hope Marisa's not angry with me," she muttered to herself. She shook her head as an attempt to get her short blond hair out of her face. She stopped for a moment to look at a clock on a bank. The time was 1:05.

"Aww, man! I'm an hour late! She's gonna kill me!" the girl cried out as she built up speed. Suddenly, she turned the corner and SMACK! She ran into a young boy and they both fell to the ground...

"Are you all right, Tai?" Kari asked as she tried to help her brother stand up.

"Well, I have had better days," Tai muttered as he stood up. "Why don't you watch where you're going!" he yelled at the girl who ran into him. She was wearing roller blades, a pair of jeans, and a red-and-blue striped tank top.

"Look, I'm really sorry about that," she apologized as she carefully got up. Her blue eyes were also pleading for forgiveness.

Tai felt his little sister elbow him. "All right," he finally said. Kari elbowed him again. "What?" he exclaimed.

"You should apologize, too, Tai," Kari explained. "You shouldn't have yelled at her like that. It was just an accident."

Tai groaned a bit and turned toward the girl. "I'm sorry for yelling at you," he grumbled. The girl smiled a bit.

"Thanks," she said. "Sorry to run off, but I'm supposed to meet someone in the park over an hour ago!" She sped past Tai and Kari.

_That's weird,_ Tai thought. _I got a strange feeling of déjà vu from that girl._ He was too busy watching the girl that he didn't hear Kari yelling for him.

"Huh? What is it, Kari?"

"I think that girl is one of the Digi-Destined, Tai," Kari explained.

"Why do you think that?" Tai asked.

"The digivice reacted when she went past me."

"Aww, man! We probably lost her!" Tai exclaimed.

"Didn't she say she had to go to the park to meet someone?" Kari asked. Tai thought hard about it.

"Yeah, she did! Let's go!" Tai ran as fast as he could to the park, with Kari at his heels...

A boy slowly walked down the streets, holding a few bags in his hands. He had jet-black hair and was wearing a red T-shirt and denim jeans. His dark brown eyes watched the people pass him as they went about their daily business. His parents had chewed him out since he had gotten home so late, and his punishment was to get the groceries. Two kids caught his eye, one was staring at his hand and the other was looking around.

"Got anything yet, Izzy?" Mimi asked dully, looking at the shorter kid next to her. Izzy was about to say no when the little device in his hand started to respond.

"As a matter of fact, I do have something," Izzy replied.

Mimi's head snapped up and looked around. A fairly tall kid was walking towards them. He was carrying a few bags as he made his way. Mimi looked around a little more, but that was the only kid she saw in the crowd of people.

"Izzy, is that the guy?" Mimi whispered, pointing to the black-haired kid.

Izzy looked up and pointed the digivice in the direction Mimi was pointing. The digivice in his hand was now vibrating harder than it previously was.

"I think you're right," Izzy confirmed.

Zack looked at his watch. It wasn't that late. His parents would still be working by now. A light tap on his shoulder disturbed him from his thoughts. Zack saw the two kids he had been studying earlier standing before him.

"What do you want?" Zack asked. The girl looked down at her companion, who nodded.

"I was wondering, do you know what this is? I found it on the street," Izzy asked, holding out the digivice.

Zack looked at the thing and arched an eyebrow. Zack set down one of the grocery bags and went to grab the device to have a better look at it. As soon as his hand touched the digivice, it lit up and he pulled his hand back quickly.

"Umm, I have to get going. Gotta get these groceries home before they spoil," Zack stuttered quickly before walking off.

"Now what?" Mimi asked.

"We follow him. We can't go to the Digiworld without him," Izzy theorized, running in the direction Zack went, with Mimi following behind...

"I still don't know why we have to look around here," Joe admitted nervously as he looked around. He and Sora have found themselves in one of the worst sections of the city. The walls of the old, run-down brick buildings were covered with graffiti, the alleys and sidewalks were littered with garbage, and sirens were heard every five minutes or so.

"I told you before, Joe. The digivice reacted a little bit earlier, so the kid's gotta be around here somewhere," Sora reminded him. She was about ready to give up until the digivice started to vibrate.

"Hey, it's reacting again!" Sora exclaimed as she quickly scanned the area for any kids. A sandy blond-haired boy was carrying a garbage bag to a nearby dumpster. The kid was wearing an army-green T-shirt with black shorts. Joe and Sora looked at each other, and then walked over to the kid.

Yuuchi looked up when he heard footsteps walking toward him. Two kids had approached him.

"Hiya! What brings you to this side of the neighborhood?" Yuuchi asked. He hadn't seen these kids around before.

"We're...looking for someone," Joe replied hesitantly.

"Well, I know a lot of people in this neighborhood, so maybe I can help you out," Yuuchi offered.

"You see, we're looking for the owner of this," Sora announced. She held out the digivice, which was now vibrating more then it was before.

Yuuchi's viridian eyes looked over the device in her hand. He reached out to grab it, so he could have a better look. As soon as he touched the device, it lit up. He didn't seem bothered one bit, though, since he thought it was supposed to do that.

"No, sorry. I'm not sure who it belongs to. Oh, sorry for not introducing myself. I'm Yuuchi. Nice to meet you," Yuuchi greeted.

"I'm Sora and that's Joe," Sora introduced.

"Well, I should get back to work. I'll be here most of the day, so if you want to visit, you're more than welcome to," Yuuchi mentioned after giving the device back to Sora.

"Well, that went better than I expected," Sora exclaimed after he had left.

"Yeah, he didn't even ask questions when it lit up," Joe admitted...

Meanwhile, back in the park, Marisa was sitting back on the bench, listening to Matt as he explained the situation.

"So, you're saying that there's a digital world filled with creatures called Digimon?" she asked.

"Uh-huh," T.K. nodded.

"And I have to go with you and your friends to this 'Digiworld,' along with three other kids?"

"Hard to believe, but yeah," Matt replied.

Marisa was quietly thinking to herself for a moment. "That would explain all that weird stuff that happened a few days ago," she muttered out loud. "All those monsters attacking, first Japan, then everywhere else around the world. Then, there was that upside-down island up in the sky, and that weird-looking metal cube with that hideous creature on top...Those creatures that attacked, were they Digimon?"

"Yeah," Matt admitted, "but they were all evil Digimon."

"What about that island in the sky?" Marisa asked as she stood up.

"That was File Island in the Digiworld," T.K. answered.

"According to a friend of ours," Matt explained, "there's trouble back in the Digiworld again, and we need to find four more Digi-Destined to help us out. You're one of them, and as soon as we find the rest, we're leaving for the Digiworld."

"But, I just can't leave!" Marisa exclaimed.

"Oh, don't worry, Marisa," T.K. replied cheerfully. "We'll only be gone for a few minutes cuz times passes differently in the Digiworld."

"It's not that, T.K.," Marisa explained. You see, I'm supposed to meet my sister here and I don't know what's taking her so long. It's been over an hour now."

"Hey, Marisa! Sorry I'm late," they heard a girl shout.

Marisa looked up at the same girl that Tai ran into earlier. She was now wearing red-and-blue striped sneakers on her feet. Her roller blades were connected by a bungee cord and were hanging from her shoulder.

"What took you so long, Marni?" Marisa asked as she approached her sister.

"Well, it's a long story," Marni explained. "Practice took a lot longer than I thought. By the time I got out, it was almost 12:30. I got lost for about ten minutes, I crashed into some boy a while ago, and he was really angry with me..." She stopped talking when she noticed Matt and T.K. standing nearby. "Do you know them?" Marni asked.

"I just met them while I was waiting for you," Marisa explained. "This is Matt, and his brother, T.K. They've been looking for..."

Before Marisa could continue, Tai and Kari arrived. They were both out of breath from running.

"Tai, Kari, are you all right?" Matt asked as he and T.K. approached them.

"Just...give us...a minute, okay?" Tai gasped.

"You two again?" Marni exclaimed. "Were you trying to catch up with me or something?"

An idea quickly came to Tai's head. "Umm...yeah, we were. You see, my sister, Kari, found something on the ground, and we think you might have dropped it."

"Well, lemme take a look," Marni requested.

Kari walked up to Marni and opened her hand. Lying on it was the digivice, which was vibrating like crazy. Marni reached out her hand to pick it up, so she could look at it. When she touched the digivice, it lit up with a colorful beam of light.

"Whoa, cool!" Marni exclaimed as she moved her hand away. "I'll admit, it doesn't belong to me, but can I have it anyway?"

"Of course, you can," Tai agreed as Marni snatched the digivice from Kari's open hand. "It was yours all along, anyway."

"Huh?" Marni replied, obviously confused by what Tai said.

"I can explain everything to you, Marni," Marisa told her as she led her to the bench.

As Marisa tried to explain, Tai asked, "Who was that, Matt?"

"That's Marisa. She's Marni's sister," Matt explained. "Marisa is also one of the Digi-Destined. It'd probably be easier for Marni if her sister explains everything to her."

"Okay," Tai muttered as they waited for Marisa to wrap things up with Marni...

Izzy and Mimi eventually followed Zack to an apartment house. He opened one of the doors and had a look in before entering. His parents weren't home yet. He started to put away the groceries his parents so kindly asked him to get. Zack was almost done when there was a knock on the door.

"Be there in a minute," he shouted. He glanced at the clock. It couldn't be his parents. It was too early.

_Of course, maybe Dad blew his job over again and just went out to get drunk, who knew._ Zack put the last of the groceries into the fridge then went to the door.

He opened it a bit to see who it was. It was the same two kids he ran into earlier. Zack arched an eyebrow and opened the door up more.

"What do you want?" he asked, eyeing the kids.

"Uh, we were wondering if you could come with us," Mimi suggested.

Zack glanced at the clock again. It was getting late, and he didn't really feel like being home when his parents arrived anyway. Of course, who knew what these two kids were planning? But they were a couple of kids, so there wasn't much that they could do, and he needed to get away from the house anyway.

"Sure, why not? It's not like I have anything better to do," he replied as he walked out and closed the door behind him. "Where to?" he asked.

"The park. By the way, this is Mimi and I'm Izzy," Izzy introduced.

"I'm Zack," he replied, following the kids toward the park, where they had agreed to meet...

Yuuchi slumped on the ground, exhausted from all the previous work. He wasn't very fond of having to help out with the family business, but who was he to complain? At least he got paid well, that's all that mattered. He summoned up enough energy to get back on his feet. He was about to leave when he saw Sora and Joe from earlier. They were walking towards him. He waited for them to reach where he was currently standing.

"Hey, you came back after all!" Yuuchi exclaimed.

"Yeah, listen, we're heading over to the park. Would you like to come?" Sora asked.

"I'd have to ask my parents first, if you don't mind, but sure, I'll join you," Yuuchi replied.

"Good! The sooner we leave this place, the better," Joe muttered out loud.

"Joe!" Sora warned, eyeing him.

"What? This place gives me the creeps," Joe admitted.

"Joe, every place gives you the creeps," Sora retorted, rolling her eyes.

"Don't worry, there's no one to be afraid of here. Come on, I'll take you to my house," Yuuchi announced as he walked off. The two shrugged and followed Yuuchi. He led them to a small house not too far from the park.

"Umm, can you guys stay here? I'm not sure how my mom will react to bringing total strangers to my house," he admitted, looking the two over.

"No! We should be fine," Sora assured him.

"Thanks," Yuuchi replied as he headed into the house. They waited a few minutes and he emerged with a smile on his face.

"Permission granted," Yuuchi announced. With that, the three kids headed to the park, where they would meet the others...

"So, lemme get this straight," Marni retorted a bit suspiciously. "We are going to another world filled with monsters and a bunch of other weird stuff, and we need to save that world in order to save ours?"

"From what I understand, yeah," Marisa replied.

"Sounds cool! When do we leave?" Marni asked excitedly, catching everyone by surprise.

"As soon as everyone else gets here, we're outta here," Tai announced.

"It's not that easy, Tai," Matt reminded him. "If our friends can't find those other two kids..."

"Hey, Tai! We're back," Izzy shouted. All heads turned his way as the redhead kid approached them. He was followed shortly by Mimi, and a fairly tall kid, who was looking around.

"You found him?" Tai asked.

"Yeah. He doesn't talk much, though," Mimi admitted openly.

"So, these are the other kids you told me about, huh?" Zack asked, looking the kids over. Izzy and Mimi had explained the whole situation to him on the way to the park.

"Well, that makes three out of four. I wonder if Joe and Sora had any luck," Matt wondered. Some rustling from the bushes told them that someone else was about to join them.

"As a matter of fact, we did," Sora admitted, followed by Joe and a sandy-blond kid with green eyes. Yuuchi was looking the group over when he saw a familiar face.

"Well, look who it is! Mr. Grumpy himself," Yuuchi proclaimed with a smile.

"You know him?" Joe asked.

"We met on the bus going home one day," Yuuchi confessed.

"Yeah, the annoying little twerp couldn't keep his mouth shut," Zack informed everyone. Yuuchi gave Zack a dirty look.

"Okay, now that everyone met," Marni interrupted, "how do we get to the Digiworld?"

Before anyone could answer her, a massive beam of multi-colored light shined down on the twelve children. Marisa gasped as she started to rise up in the air. She looked up and noticed that she wasn't the only one floating.

"Does that answer your question?" Yuuchi asked Marni a bit sarcastically. Surprisingly, no one saw the twelve kids float up in the sky and then vanish into thin air...

"Tai? Yoo-hoo, Tai?"

The familiar voice slowly woke up Tai. He looked into the face of his old friend, Agumon, and for a moment, thought he was still dreaming.

"Give me a few more minutes, Mom," he grumbled as he lied back down and closed his eyes.

"Time to wake up, everyone!" the familiar voice of Gatomon yelled.

An ear-piercing whistle snapped Tai into alertness, along with everyone else.

"Good morning, sleepy-head," Gatomon greeted Kari, who was yawning a little bit.

"Oh, Gatomon!" Kari exclaimed as she hugged her Digimon. "Wow! You kept my whistle all this time."

Gatomon smiled a bit as she looked down at the silver whistle hanging from her neck. "I promised I'd keep it with me always," she admitted.

Tai stood up on the sandy beach and looked around. The area looked vaguely familiar to him, yet it was different than what he had remembered.

"Agumon, are we on File Island?" Tai asked a bit uncertainly.

"Yup. Looks different, doesn't it?" Agumon asked.

"Sure does," Tai muttered.

"So, this is the Digiworld?" he heard Marni ask. He and the others, including their Digimon, turned around. Marni, Marisa, Zack, and Yuuchi were standing there, staring curiously at the Digimon with wide eyes and open mouths.

"Yup, we're on File Island now," Tai replied.

"Wow!" Yuuchi exclaimed, looking at the Digimon. "Those are so cool! Do they have names?"

"Uh, yeah. This is Agumon, Gatomon, Biyomon, Gabumon, Patamon, Palmon, Tentomon, and Gomamon," Tai introduced. "Guys, this is Marni, Marisa, Zack, and Yuuchi."

"Sora?" Biyomon asked, tapping her on the arm.

"Yes?" Sora asked.

"Are they the new Digi-Destined?"

"Yes, they are. How did you know about them?" Sora asked.

"Gennai explained everything to us," Tentomon explained, hovering in the air.

"How come File Island has changed so much?" Mimi asked as she looked around.

"Well, it's relatively simple, Mimi," Izzy explained as he started typing on his laptop. "Time runs differently in the Digiworld than in our world. Remember that a minute in our world is equivalent to one day in the Digiworld. Let's see. We left the Digiworld precisely three days ago, which is also equivalent to seventy-two hours. Multiplied by sixty minutes equals four thousand, three hundred and twenty minutes, which is equivalent to four thousand, three hundred and twenty days in the Digiworld. Divide that by 365.25 days in a year..."

"Quit it with all the math and get to the point, Izzy!" Tai yelled out of frustration.

"Okay, okay," Izzy exclaimed, a bit annoyed. "Approximately eleven years, nine months, and twenty-nine days have passed in the Digiworld." There were a few moments of silence that followed.

"In that period of time," Izzy continued, "natural changes have occurred in the Digital environment."

"The environment's not the only thing that has changed here, Izzy," Tentomon remarked.

"What else is there?" Izzy asked.

"Ever since you all left, several new kinds of Digimon have appeared all over the Digiworld," Tentomon explained. The kids gasped when they heard this news.

"Prodigious!" Izzy exclaimed. "I can't wait to observe these new Digimon!"

Suddenly, some rustling was heard from a nearby bush. Everyone froze, not knowing whether it was a good or bad Digimon. A few moments later, a head popped out of the bushes. It was lime-green in color with brown eyes and looked just like Agumon's head, only it had a curved crest on the back of its head. The Digimon looked around at the kids. When it saw Marisa, it gasped and bounced up and down in excitement.

As it bounced its way toward Marisa, it exclaimed in a high squeaky voice, "I can't believe it! I finally found you!"

Marisa eyed the Digimon nervously as it bounced around her. "What's wrong, Marisa? Aren't you happy to see me?" it asked.

"How did you know my name?" Marisa asked, bending down on her knees to take a better look at the excited bouncing head.

"Because I'm your Digimon, silly," the creature answered. "I'm Chamamon. Nice to finally meet you, Marisa."

Marisa giggled. "Nice to meet you too, Chamamon," she replied with a smile.

With the appearance made by Chamamon, no one noticed the pale pink Digimon slithering out of the bushes. It was about the size of a small python with bright blue eyes. It slithered its way toward Marni, but she didn't notice since she was watching Chamamon.

Marisa looked up at her sister and froze. The pink snake was on Marni's foot. "Don't move," she whispered with slight panic in her voice.

"Why? What's wrong?" Marni asked. She followed her sister's gaze down to her feet and saw the pink snake, which had already started to wrap itself around Marni's leg.

"Whoa!" she murmured. "Is that a Digimon?"

The snake looked up at her and replied in a slithery voice, "What do you think, Marni?"

"Are you my Digimon?" Marni asked as the snake made its way up her body and wrapped itself around her shoulders.

"Yesss, I am. The name isss Venomon. Pleasssure to meet you." It flickered its dark purple forked tongue.

"EWW!" Mimi exclaimed. "That has to be the ugliest Digimon I've ever seen!"

"Mimi!" Palmon exclaimed.

"Well, it's true," Mimi admitted.

Venomon stared coldly at Mimi and flickered its tongue again. This gave Mimi the shivers.

"Don't get so judgmental, Mimi," Marni retorted as she stroked Venomon's chin.

Suddenly, a small patch of tall grass started to shake violently. Two Digimon, never seen before by the original Digi-Destined, rolled out of the grass and stopped at Zack and Yuuchi's feet.

One of the two was a navy blue head, which pretty much looked like a cat, besides the fact that it had dark green eyes.

"Hi, Zack. I'm your new friend, Cubmon," the little Digimon greeted. Zack blinked a few times at this, and then arched an eyebrow. He was still having a hard time digesting the previous information.

Yuuchi bent down to investigate the little peach thing sitting at his feet. "And let me get this straight. You're my Digimon, right?" Yuuchi asked with a curious glance.

"Yep, that's right. My name is Manimon, and you're Yuuchi," it said. Yuuchi nodded his head in return.

"So this world we're in right now is the Digiworld, these things are the things you were telling us about, and this particular thing right here is mine?" Zack asked as he tried to figure out the mess in his mind. "Yeah, basically," Tai admitted. Yuuchi looked surprised. "That's the most I've heard him talk since I met him! I think he's getting better at this," Yuuchi remarked with a smile. Zack shot him a glare in return.

"So, what now?" Marni asked.

"Well, you were already given your digivices," Izzy explained.

"That's what these white things are?" Marisa asked, looking at the digivice in her hand.

"Precisely," Izzy replied. "Now, you just need your tags and crests."

Izzy opened up his backpack and was about to reach in when four beams of light shot out. One was red, another was dark green, the third was dark blue, and the last was light green. The four beams of light headed straight toward Marni, Marisa, Zack, and Yuuchi. The light made an impact on their chests, but they didn't feel any pain, which was what they were expecting.

"What the…?" Yuuchi exclaimed. For once, he was at a loss for words. He was wearing a necklace, from which hung a tag with a lime-green crest. Yuuchi looked up and noticed that the others had tags and crests just like him, only Marni's was bright red, Marisa's was forest green, and Zack's was cerulean blue.

"Astonishing!" Izzy exclaimed. "The tags and crests went immediately to their owners."

"Do these crests have any special meaning?" Zack asked as he examined his tag.

"Yes, they do," Izzy replied, "but I'm afraid that's something you'll have to discover on your own."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Yuuchi retorted a bit rudely.

Before anyone could reply, Marni asked, "What's that light?"

"What do you mean?" Marisa asked.

"That light heading towards us," Marni explained, pointing at a glowing orange light, which was coming closer to them.

As everyone looked at the light, Sora suggested, "Maybe it's Meramon?"

Tai took out his telescope and looked at the glowing light. "It's definitely not Meramon," he remarked.

"Then, who is it, Tai?" Kari asked.

"I don't know, Kari," Tai replied. "I've never seen this Digimon before. Must be one of those new ones Tentomon was talking about."

"Let me sssee, Tai," Venomon requested, who was still on Marni's shoulders.

Tai approached Marni and held up the telescope so Venomon could look through it. It gasped when it recognized the walking blob of lava heading towards them.

"Do you recognize it, Venomon?" Marni asked as Tai moved the telescope away.

"Afraid ssso," Venomon muttered. "What was it?" Chamamon asked.

"It'sss Lavamon," Venomon replied.

"Oh, no!" Chamamon exclaimed.

"You heard of him?" Marisa asked.

"Uh-huh. Lavamon's bad news. He's a fiery Digimon who'll destroy anything in his way."

"I remember Lavamon," Cubmon muttered angrily. "A few days ago, he destroyed half of my village. Lavamon's very dangerous."

"Then, why are we still standing here?" Zack asked as he ran into the bushes, with Cubmon in his arms.

"Hey, that's actually a good idea!" Tai remarked. "We can surprise-attack Lavamon from those bushes! Come on, everyone."

All the other kids and their Digimon ran into the bushes and waited. As Lavamon came closer, Tai told the new kids, "When Lavamon is right outside these bushes, attack."

"Attack with what?" Zack asked, who was a bit confused.

"He probably means attack with our Digimon, Zack," Marisa whispered.

Lavamon stopped on the beach right next to the kids' hiding place. They were already starting to sweat from the heat of Lavamon's body. He had a hand-held walkie-talkie in his hand. He spoke into it, "Still can't find those kids, boss. Are you sure this is where they landed?" There was an angry garbled response. "Sorry, boss, it is my fault. Don't worry. When I find those Digi-Destined, they're toast."

"That's what you think!" Cubmon yelled as he, Manimon, Chamamon, and Venomon jumped out of the bushes.

Lavamon looked down at the Digimon and laughed. "You really think you can take me on, little ones?" he retorted.

The four Digimon attacked with their Bubble Blow simultaneously. All four Bubble Blows struck Lavamon in the eyes.

"Ahh!" he screamed in pain as he covered his eyes. The kids quickly emerged from the bushes with their Digimon.

"We'll take it from here," Tai told Marni, Marisa, Zack, and Yuuchi. "All right, guys. Let's show this hot head what we're made of!" Tai shouted.

"Pepper Breath!" Agumon shouted, releasing a ball of fire at Lavamon. The attack hit the Digimon also.

"Tai, that thing's a fire Digimon. Agumon can't hurt him!" Izzy reminded him.

"Spiral Twister!" Biyomon shouted as a green spiral came out of her beak. This attack also hit Lavamon, but again, he didn't seem fazed.

"Blue Blaster!" Gabumon shouted.

"Poison Ivy!" Palmon shouted, only to get her vines set on fire.

"Flames of Rage!" Lavamon shouted, sending fire everywhere.

"It doesn't look good for our side," Yuuchi informed the others from the bushes. "I think you're right," Marni admitted.

"Marching Fishes!" Gomamon shouted.

"Super Shocker!" Tentomon shouted.

"Boom Bubble!" Patamon shouted.

"Lightning Paw!" Gatomon shouted.

The four Digimon all attacked at once, only to be knocked down by Lavamon's Flames of Rage.

"Come on, you guys! We have to help them!" Chamamon shouted.

"Right!" Cubmon agreed. Suddenly, the four digivices that belonged to the kids started to react.

"Venomon digivolve to...Sssnakemon."

"Cubmon digivolve to...Cheetamon."

"Chamamon digivolve to...Chamelamon."

"Manimon digivolve to...Nanmimon."

"Let's go take care of that big bully once and for all!" Cheetamon yelled. The four kids just stared in astonishment.

"Right!" they all chorused. The four Digimon jumped out of the bushes.

"Lightning Slash!" Cheetamon shouted. His long claws sprung out and electricity started to build up around them. He slashed the air, sending electricity in the shape of claw marks straight at Lavamon.

"Psybeam!" Nanmimon shouted. The green triangle on his forehead started to glow and a beam of light shout out.

"Poissson Sssting!" Snakemon shouted. He opened his mouth and a dozen glowing white needles flew out.

"Fire Spin!" Chamelamon shouted. She opened her mouth and a spiral of fire flew out.

The four attacks combined hit Lavamon in the stomach. He groaned and bent over in pain.

"All right!" Cheetamon, Nanmimon, Snakemon, and Chamelamon cheered.

"Way to go," Marni exclaimed as she, Marisa, Zack, and Yuuchi came out from behind the bushes.

"Don't celebrate yet!" Marisa gasped as Lavamon stood up. The four kids quickly joined the other Digi-Destined.

"Any ideas, cuz we sure could use a good one right now!" Zack exclaimed.

"We'll attack together!" Cheetamon suggested.

"I don't know," Zack muttered uncertainly.

"Come on! We can do it," Chamelamon encouraged the other Digimon. "There's twelve of us and only one of him. We gotta try, at least!"

"What are you puny little Digimon gonna try now?" Lavamon asked sarcastically.

"Pepper Breath!"

"Spiral Twister!"

"Blue Blaster!"

"Marching Fishes!"

"Super Shocker!"

"Boom Bubble!"

"Lightning Paw!"

"Lightning Slash!"

"Psybeam!"

"Poissson Sssting!"

"Fire Spin!"

All eleven attacks struck Lavamon simultaneously. Upon impact, Lavamon screamed in pain and disintegrated.

"Yeah!" all of the kids cheered simultaneously as Lavamon's walkie-talkie dropped in the sand.

"LAVAMON!" a deep voice squeaked through the walkie-talkie. Tai approached the walkie-talkie and was about to pick it up when it disintegrated...

Unbeknownst to the Digi-Destined, they were being watched.

"They destroyed Lavamon, and all the Digimon were Rookies!" replied the same deep voice, which was coming from a throne veiled in dark shadows, covering the image of the creature.

"Doesn't matter, though. Lavamon was weak, and he's not the only ace I have up my sleeve. Isn't that right?" Several pairs of glowing red eyes appeared around the throne as the mysterious creature on the throne laughed evilly...TO BE CONTINUED


	2. The Arrival of Cobramon

FROM THE DEPTHS

**Part 2: The Arrival of Cobramon**

"Wow! That was totally awesome!" Yuuchi exclaimed. "Umm...it's not Manimon anymore, right?"

Nanmimon was still peach in color, except he now looked similar to a small pony. He had three matching spikes on his head, a small green triangle on his forehead, and bright lavender eyes. He shook his head no. "I'm Nanmimon now, Yuuchi."

Marisa looked down at the large lizard staring back at her with bright blue eyes. Her body was purple with bright pink tiger stripes on her back, and she still had the curved crest on the back of her head.

"I guess you're not Chamamon, are you?"

"Uh-uh. Now I'm Chamelamon," she told Marisa.

"What happened to them?" Marisa asked the other kids.

"They all digivolved," Matt answered.

"What's that?" Yuuchi asked.

"Digivolving is when your Digimon advances to the next level and becomes more powerful than before," Izzy explained.

"That'sss the truth," Snakemon admitted. The large kiwi-green snake with two arms, golden-yellow eyes, a pale yellow belly, and a dark orange diamond pattern running down his back looked up at Marni. "I usssed to be Venomon, but I digivolved to Sssnakemon."

"And I digivolved from Cubmon to Cheetamon, Zack," Cheetamon exclaimed.

Zack arched an eyebrow as he eyed this strange creature standing before him. He looked very similar to a cheetah back in Zack's world, except he had a star on his stomach, and two gold bracelets on his front paws. He also had a smaller gold bracelet on his tail. Cheetamon still had the same dark green eyes he had when he was Cubmon.

"So, what do we do next?" Yuuchi asked as he looked at the others, who were watching the whole process.

"Well, we find what's causing all this mess and stop it," Tai explained.

"And how are we supposed to find it?" Marni asked.

"Well, that's usually not the problem. They normally find us first," Joe muttered.

"So, let me get this straight," Zack said. "These things can 'digivolve' into bigger things? So, are there any more forms?"

"Precisely. In fact, there are a total of five different levels. There's an In-Training level, a Rookie level, a Champion level, an Ultimate level, and even a Mega level. Currently, all of our Digimon are in their Rookie form," Izzy explained.

"So, in other words, they'll be able to digivolve again?" Marisa asked.

"That is correct," Izzy confirmed.

Marni was about to say something when she noticed that Izzy had opened up his laptop and was typing furiously. "What are you doing, Izzy?" she asked.

"I'm emailing a friend of mine, who lives here in the Digiworld," Izzy explained. "His name is Gennai, and he may have some useful information on this new enemy that's threatening this world." After he finished typing, Izzy sat back from the screen and groaned.

"What's the matter, Izzy?" Sora asked.

"For some reason, Gennai's not responding," Izzy explained.

"Just give it a couple of whacks to boot it up!" Tai suggested. He would have whacked Izzy's laptop himself if Joe and Zack didn't hold him back.

"That could be the problem," Marisa suggested, pointing at a thick fog that had rolled in from the ocean and had already blanketed the beach.

"That has to be it," Izzy muttered. "The fog must be messing with my infrared Internet connection." He closed his laptop and stood up. "Let's try moving further inland," he suggested to the others as he headed into the forest, followed by Tentomon.

"Hey, Izzy! Wait up!" Tai exclaimed as he and the other kids tried their best to keep up with Izzy and Tentomon...

By the time the other kids caught up with Izzy, he was once again typing on his laptop, with Tentomon at his side.

"Any luck now, Izzy?" Tentomon asked.

"Not yet," Izzy admitted.

"You might as well give it up, Izzy," Matt suggested. "The whole island's covered in this fog."

Izzy looked up from his laptop and realized that Matt was right about the fog. Izzy was about ready to give up when his eyes spotted Infinity Mountain. The fog had circled the base of the mountain, but it was crystal clear higher up.

"I'm afraid you're wrong, Matt," Izzy remarked, pointing at Infinity Mountain. "If I climb up Infinity Mountain, I'll get much better reception and be able to contact Gennai!"

Izzy started to run toward the mountain, with Tentomon shouting, "Wait for me, Izzy!"

"Hold on a minute!" Joe yelled. Izzy and Tentomon stopped and turned around.

"What is it, Joe?" Izzy asked.

"You shouldn't go up there by yourself. It's too dangerous."

"Joe, we've been up Infinity Mountain before, so I know about the potential danger," Izzy explained. "I'll only be up there for approximately an hour, maybe two."

"You might have been up there before, Izzzzzzy," Snakemon remarked, "but that wasss over eleven yearsss ago. There are new dangersss in thisss world now that you and your friendsss have probably never come acrossssss before."

Izzy thought about what Snakemon said. "Well, that's true," he muttered as he looked at Infinity Mountain.

"Look, why don't Snakemon and I go with you?" Marni suggested. "I think two Digimon could handle anything up there."

"I'm not sure about you going, Marni," Izzy muttered out loud. "Your Digimon hasn't had much experience fighting other Digimon."

"Okay, that's true," Marni admitted, "but if we do run into something on that mountain, Snakemon will gain more fighting experience, right?"

Izzy was quiet for a few moments, carefully thinking it over. "Well, I suppose there'll be no harm with you coming along with us," he finally replied.

"All right!" Marni exclaimed. "Let's get going! Come on, Snakemon."

As she and her Digimon headed toward the base of Infinity Mountain, Sora asked Izzy, "Are you sure about this, Izzy? What if you do come across an evil Digimon up there?"

"No need to worry about it, guys," Izzy assured his friends. "I have Tentomon with me, and I'm confident he can handle any Digimon we may encounter on the way up by himself, if it ever comes to that."

"Come on, Izzy! I haven't got all day!" Marni yelled impatiently.

"Coming!" Izzy yelled as he ran to her, followed by Tentomon.

"Be careful, Marni," Marisa shouted to her sister.

"Don't worry about it," Marni shouted back. Together, the two kids and their Digimon eventually disappeared into the thick fog bank...

"Geez!" Marni exclaimed as she wiped the sweat from her forehead with her hand. "From down there, Infinity Mountain looked a lot smaller. I can see how it got its name!" She looked up at Izzy and Tentomon, who didn't appear to be as exhausted as she was.

Marni took in a deep breath and asked, "Do we have to go all the way to the top?"

"Not necessarily," Izzy explained. "We just need to locate a break in this fog. I need a fog-free area in order to contact Gennai."

Marni sighed deeply. "Okay," she replied as she stepped forward. Marni tripped over something and fell to the ground.

"Hey, watch where you're going!" Snakemon complained.

"Sorry about that," Marni apologized as she stood up. "I didn't see you, Snakemon, with all this fog." The fog was still pretty thick, so the kids and their Digimon were still having a hard time seeing where they were going.

As Marni helped Snakemon up, Izzy was looking at the path ahead. "It appears that the fog is starting to lift up along this path, guys," he informed Marni, Snakemon, and Tentomon. "We just have to go a little further."

Marni looked up at the path and noticed that Izzy was right. The path was becoming much clearer. Izzy continued hiking up the steep path, with Tentomon hovering next to him, and Marni and Snakemon lagging behind.

By the time the two caught up with Izzy and Tentomon, they were on an extremely sharp turn on the path. There was a massive gray boulder nearby, and the bend in the path formed a long ledge overlooking File Island.

"This is perfect," Izzy commented as he plopped down on the ground. He opened up his laptop and started to type furiously. Tentomon was watching over his shoulder as he usually did, and Marni and Snakemon were looking around the place.

Marni was obviously becoming bored with watching Izzy on his computer. She headed over to the nearby boulder, climbed on top of it, and stretched out on her back. Snakemon soon joined her by slithering his way up. He followed Marni's gaze up to the sky.

"What are you looking at, Marni?" Snakemon asked as he flickered his tongue.

"The clouds," Marni replied, still looking up at the sky. "It's not like I have anything better to do, with Izzy typing away on his computer. Boring!"

Snakemon lied down on his back and looked up at the clouds. "Why do humansss do thisss?" he asked.

"It's something us kids like to do when we're bored," Marni explained. "We look up at the clouds and see if we can pick out any shapes or forms. Like, look at that cloud over there." She pointed at a large round one with two smaller ones on top. "That cloud looks like the head of a teddy bear."

"No, it doesssn't," Snakemon replied.

"Do you even know what a teddy bear is?" Marni asked.

"No," Snakemon admitted, "but that one looksss like Monzzzaemon."

"Monzaemon?" Marni repeated. "Is he a Digimon?"

"Of courssse," Snakemon replied. "He runsss a placcce called Toy Town."

As Marni and Snakemon talked some more, Izzy had finally succeeded with making contact with Gennai.

"Izzy, my boy! It's good to see you again," the image of Gennai on Izzy's computer screen greeted.

"Likewise, Gennai," Izzy replied. "Do you have any information on the new evil that's threatening the Digital World?"

Gennai was quiet for a moment. "Sorry, Izzy, but not much is known about this new evil Digimon. All I know is that his name is...Armaggedamon."

"Armaggedamon," Izzy repeated.

"He's extremely dangerous, more dangerous than all the evil Digimon you and your friends have defeated before."

"So that's why we needed four more Digi-Destined," Izzy theorized.

"Exactly," Gennai confirmed. "You and your friends must be very careful with whom you trust here in the Digiworld. Any evil Digimon you encounter has a connection with Armaggedamon, so it's important that...Uh-oh."

" 'Uh- oh?' Oh, I hate it when he says that," Tentomon exclaimed.

"Where are you now, Izzy?" Gennai asked.

"Up on Infinity Mountain. Why?" Izzy asked.

"You must be careful up there. A new evil Digimon lives up there," Gennai explained. "It is called a Rhynomon. It looks like a Monochromon, only its body is covered with a thick gray hide. When it's lying perfectly still, it can be mistaken for a boulder."

"Did you say 'boulder?' " Izzy asked.

"Yes, I did," Gennai replied.

Izzy was obviously nervous. He remembered passing a massive boulder on the way up, and now Marni and Snakemon were lying on top of it!

"I'll have to talk to you later, Gennai," Izzy stuttered as he closed his computer. He turned around and ran as fast as he could, followed by Tentomon...

"MARNI!"

Upon hearing her name, the girl looked up and saw Izzy and Tentomon racing toward her. She and Snakemon stood up on the boulder.

"What's up, Izzy?" Marni asked.

"You got to get off that thing, now!" Izzy yelled. Just then, a pair of glowing red eyes could be seen on the boulder, but Marni and Snakemon couldn't see them.

"Why?" Marni asked.

Suddenly, the rock underneath her started to shake. Startled by the sudden movements, she screamed a bit. Marni and Snakemon quickly slid off of the Digimon's back as Rhynomon stood up. Marni quickly ran over to where Izzy was.

"Let's do it, Tentomon!" Izzy shouted, looking at his friend. The little bug Digimon nodded and Izzy's digivice was activated.

"Tentomon digivolve to...Kabuterimon!"

"Electro Shocker!" Kabuterimon shouted, releasing a ball of electricity at the Digimon. Rhynomon was hit, but didn't seem fazed too much.

"I don't think we have much of a chance here. That Digimon's a rock Digimon, so Kabuterimon can't hurt him!" Izzy explained to Marni.

"Bone Crusher!" Rhynomon shouted, charging at Kabuterimon and pinning him against the wall. It didn't look like Kabuterimon would last much longer in battle.

"What are we going to do, Snakemon?" Marni asked her Digimon.

"I don't know, Marni," Snakemon replied, "but Kabuterimon needsss my help." The Digimon slithered closer to Rhynomon, who still had Kabuterimon pinned against the rock wall of Infinity Mountain.

"Poissson Sssting!" Snakemon shouted. The needles didn't even penetrate Rhynomon's thick hide.

"My Poissson Sssting isssn't ssstrong enough," Snakemon told Marni. "I need to digivolve to the nexxxt level."

"But, how can you do that?" Marni asked.

"I need your help, Marni. Izzzzzzy made it possssssible for Tentomon to digivolve into Kabuterimon. You can make it possssssible for me to digivolve."

As Marni took all of this in, her digivice started to react. Snakemon was suddenly bathed in a white light.

"Sssnakemon digivolve to...Cobramon!"

Marni was surprised beyond belief. Where Snakemon once stood was a huge bright green cobra, with a canary yellow belly, large muscular arms, and a decorative design in the interior of his hood.

"Is that Snakemon?" she asked Izzy, who had opened up his laptop in order to identify the Digimon.

"Not anymore, Marni," he explained. "Snakemon digivolved into his Champion form: Cobramon. His Cobra Fang attack is like having a pair of drills attacking you simultaneously. Good thing he's on our side."

Marni and Izzy watched in astonishment as Cobramon wrapped his body around Rhynomon and pulled him away from Kabuterimon.

"Are you all right, Kabuterimon?" Izzy shouted.

"Don't worry about me, Izzy," Kabuterimon replied as he stood up. Rhynomon managed to break out of Cobramon's grasp and was ready to attack again.

"Let's attack together, Kabuterimon!" Cobramon yelled.

"Right. Electro Shocker!" Kabuterimon shouted.

"Cobra Fang!" Cobramon shouted. He opened his mouth and two large ivory fangs with crimson red tips flew out. The two attacks combined nailed Rhynomon, and after letting out a painful howl, he disintegrated.

"All right!" Marni cheered.

Izzy noticed that a black walkie-talkie, just like the one Lavamon had, dropped to the ground and disintegrated shortly afterwards. "Gennai was right," he muttered thoughtfully to himself. "We must be cautious as to who we trust here in the Digital World."

"That was totally awesome, Cobramon!" Marni congratulated her Digimon as she ran toward Cobramon. She suddenly stopped when Cobramon de-digivolved back to Snakemon.

"Snakemon! What happened?" she asked as she picked up Snakemon.

"Snakemon just returned to his Rookie stage," Izzy explained.

Marni looked up at Kabuterimon, who was standing right next to Izzy. "Well, how come Kabuterimon hasn't returned back to Tentomon?" she asked.

"Well, Tentomon has digivolved much more often than Snakemon has," Izzy explained. "Because of that, he's able to stay his Champion form much longer. Once Snakemon gets accustomed to digivolving, he'll be able to hold his Champion form of Cobramon much longer than he did."

"Okay," Marni replied slowly. She looked down at Snakemon. "How are you feeling?"

"Jussst ssswell," Snakemon muttered.

"That's good," Marni replied with a smile. She turned toward Izzy.

"Since you're done talking to that 'Gennai' guy, can we get off this mountain now?" Marni asked...

"What could be taking them so long?" Marisa asked Tai, who was looking at Infinity Mountain with his mini-telescope. The thick fog had finally cleared up, so Tai could clearly see the mountain through his telescope.

"I don't know," Tai replied.

"Since Izzy's on his computer, they'll probably be up there for a few hours," Matt retorted.

"Hey, what's that?" Yuuchi asked, pointing at a blue speck that flew off of the mountain.

Tai focused his telescope on the blue speck and gasped. "It's Kabuterimon!" he exclaimed.

"Is that good?" Zack asked nervously.

"Izzy, Marni, and Snakemon are with him," Tai continued.

As the blue spot came closer, Marisa, Yuuchi, and Zack could see that Izzy, Marni, and Snakemon were indeed riding on the massive blue beetle that Tai called "Kabuterimon." Everyone backed up a bit as Kabuterimon landed on the ground and his riders slid off.

"Umm, Izzy? Where's Tentomon?" Yuuchi asked.

"This is Tentomon," Izzy explained. "He digivolved to Kabuterimon." Just then, Kabuterimon de- digivolved back to Tentomon.

"Whoa! That was awesome!" Yuuchi exclaimed.

"Marisa, you should have been up there!" Marni exclaimed to her sister. "There was this huge Digimon called a Rhynomon, Snakemon digivolved to Cobramon, and he and Kabuterimon defeated Rhynomon. It was so cool!" She turned to Izzy. "Do you still have that picture of Cobramon on your computer, Izzy? I want Marisa to see it!"

"Sure, no problem" Izzy agreed. He opened up his computer and brought the image of Cobramon back on the screen.

"Wow! That's totally wicked!" Tai commented as everyone crowded around Izzy and Marni to take a look at the image of Cobramon.

"Believe me, it's much more wicked seeing Cobramon up close," Marni added. She noticed that Snakemon was looking the other way. "Is there something wrong, Snakemon?"

"I think you like Cobramon better than me," Snakemon retorted.

"Aww, come on, Snakemon," Marni pleaded. "I'm just seeing this stuff for the first time ever. Of course, I'm gonna be excited by every single thing I see! Come on, are we gonna be friends or what?"

Snakemon looked up at Marni. "I guessssss we could be friendsss, Marni," he replied.

"Okay, a handshake makes it official," Marni remarked as she and Snakemon shook hands...TO BE CONTINUED


	3. Panthramon's Razor Claw

FROM THE DEPTHS

**Part 3: Panthramon's Razor Claw**

A beep went off on Izzy's laptop computer. "Hey, it's Gennai!" Izzy exclaimed as the familiar animated figure walked across his computer screen.

"Greetings, everyone," the figure greeted. "Ahh, I see you found the four children. Excellent work!" The four kids looked at each other with puzzled expressions on their faces.

"That must be that Gennai guy that Izzy was talking to earlier," Marni whispered to Marisa, Yuuchi, and Zack.

"That's correct, Marni," Gennai replied.

Marni jumped a bit when she heard Gennai say her name. "Man, this is freaky!" she exclaimed.

"This is very urgent. You must come to Server right away. I'm afraid that's where the real trouble lies," Gennai explained. "Oh, shoot! I'm out of quarters! Tell them about the new threat, won't you, Izzy?"

"Of course," Izzy replied as Gennai's image disappeared from the screen. He closed his laptop and looked up at the other kids.

"So, Izzy, what's going on?" Tai asked.

"Earlier today, Gennai informed me of a new evil Digimon known as Armageddamon. He's apparently more powerful than any Digimon we've faced in the past, guys. That's why it was necessary for us to bring four more Digi-Destined along this time." His friends nodded as though they understood everything.

"Now that everything's settled, we need to figure out a way to get across the ocean to Server," Matt muttered out loud as he and T.K. looked out at the seemingly endless stretch of blue water.

"Maybe we could build a raft?" Yuuchi suggested.

Joe groaned as he remembered the last time they tried to do that. "Bad idea. The last time we did that, we were almost eaten alive," he grumbled.

"Aww, come on, Joe. Whamon didn't mean to eat us," Gomamon added.

"Well, we certainly can't swim there, can we?" Marni asked.

"Whamon?" Zack asked when he heard the name.

"Yeah, he's like a huge whale," T.K. admitted.

"I really don't know what's worse, being stranded in this strange world, or having to deal with my parents," Zack muttered, shaking his head.

"Why is that?" Sora asked.

Zack closed his eyes and shook his head even more. "No reason, really. We just don't get along very well. Ever since that one day..." Zack trailed off.

"Go on," Yuuchi insisted, who was not going to let him off the hook that easily.

"I didn't want to mention it because I thought it wasn't important. I don't really know who I am. Not too long ago, something happened. I have no idea what happened, but my past just...slipped away," he explained, staring at the ground the whole time.

"A case of amnesia. How interesting," Izzy muttered to himself loud enough for Zack to overhear.

"I know what it's called. And it's not interesting. With you being the nerd, of course you would think that. How would you like it if you forgot everything you knew?" Zack snapped, walking closer to where Izzy was.

"Hey!" Izzy exclaimed as Zack forcefully pushed him to the ground. Before the fight could continue, Tai stepped in between them.

"Stop this now," Tai ordered, breaking up the fight.

"He started it," Izzy grumbled as he stood up with Tentomon's help.

"What we need now is a plan on how to get to Gennai, so we can help," Tai explained to Izzy...

Zack felt he needed some time alone in order to cool off. He snuck to a rock near the shore a little bit farther from the rest of them. He sat down and looked out at the sun setting over the ocean.

"I knew I should have stayed home, and I knew I should have kept my big mouth shut," Zack muttered to himself.

"You're not very good with others, are you, Zack?" a familiar voice asked. He looked around to see Cheetamon sitting right next to him.

"Not really," Zack admitted. "I guess it doesn't help that parents wouldn't let me interact with anyone," he muttered, not really looking up at Cheetamon.

"Well, cheer up, Zack. You're not alone anymore, cuz you got me now. And we'll be friends forever, no matter what happens," Cheetamon reminded him cheerfully. "Besides, I'm a lot like you in a way. I know what you're going through."

Zack looked up at his Digimon and smiled a bit. "Thanks, Cheetamon. Let's go see what the others have come up with," he suggested as he and Cheetamon stood up. Just as he climbed off the rock, a massive spray of water startled him and he fell to the ground.

"Sorry about that, kid," Zack heard a deep voice apologize. He looked up at a huge whale Digimon, which had swum up to shore.

"Look, it's Whamon!" Mimi exclaimed as she and the others joined Zack and Cheetamon.

"Hello, kids. I heard you wanted to see Gennai," the massive Digimon bellowed.

"Yeah," Tai exclaimed. "Could you give us a ride, Whamon?"

"No problem, Tai. Everyone get in," Whamon announced as he opened his mouth.

"You got to be kidding!" Zack exclaimed as Cheetamon helped him to his feet. "Going inside a whale? Are you crazy?"

"You know, Zack has a good point there," Marisa agreed.

"There's no need to worry," Matt explained. "Whamon wouldn't hurt anyone, unless it was an evil Digimon."

"Well, didn't Joe say that you guys almost got eaten by Whamon?" Marni asked suspiciously.

"That wasn't his fault," Agumon explained. "A black gear was controlling him at the time."

"Come on, everyone! We're wasting time just standing here!" Tai exclaimed.

"All aboard, everyone," Whamon announced. The eight original Digi-Destined and their Digimon willingly stepped inside Whamon's mouth. Tai and Agumon turned around and looked at Marni, Marisa, Zack, and Yuuchi, who were still standing on the shore with their Digimon.

"Come on, you guys!" Tai retorted. "For the last time, Whamon's not gonna hurt you!"

"Let's go," Marni told the others. "The others trust Whamon, so we should too, right?" Marisa and Yuuchi slowly nodded their heads in agreement.

"Okay, so let's go. Everyone's waiting for us." Marni and Snakemon headed inside Whamon's mouth and disappeared.

"Well, if my sister's going, then so am I," Marisa added a bit nervously as she and Chamelamon headed inside Whamon.

"Hey, wait up!" Yuuchi exclaimed as he and Nanmimon ran after them. Before he went inside, Yuuchi turned around and asked, "Are you coming, Zack?"

Zack hesitated for a moment. "Doesn't look like I have much of a choice," he muttered out loud.

Yuuchi smiled at Zack, then he turned around. As he continued going inside, Yuuchi sniffed the air inside Whamon's mouth and made a face. He yelled, "No offense, Whamon, but have you ever heard of Binoca?"

Zack tried to muffle his snickers as he and Cheetamon followed Yuuchi and Nanmimon...

"This has got to be one of the most stupidest things I've ever done," Zack muttered as he looked around.

"I think it's pretty cool," Yuuchi admitted.

"You would," Zack muttered to himself.

Most of the other kids were doing their own thing. Zack spotted Izzy typing away on his computer once again. Zack felt bad for the way he acted earlier, since it wasn't really Izzy's fault. Zack headed over to where Izzy was, with Cheetamon silently following behind.

"Listen, Izzy, I'm sorry for the way I acted earlier. I'm just not used to being around kids, and at times I can be a little too serious," Zack apologized.

Izzy looked up and smiled. "It's okay. I don't really mind much," he replied.

Zack looked at the computer. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"Nothing, really. Just seeing what's been going on in the Digiworld," Izzy explained.

Zack felt a tug on his pants and looked down at Cheetamon. "Zack, when's lunch? I'm starving," the cat Digimon asked.

Yuuchi looked up at this. "Good question. Hey, what do these things eat anyway?" he asked.

"Anything and everything," Joe muttered under his breath.

"You know, I'm a little hungry, too, Marni," Snakemon told her.

"No kidding. You probably worked up an appetite after fighting that Rhynomon and that digivolving thing you did," Marni admitted as she got up and started to dig through her pockets. "I think I have something in here...Ah- ha!" She pulled out a crumpled plastic bag from her pocket.

"What isss that?" Snakemon asked as Marni opened up the bag.

"Peanuts!" Marni pulled out a handful of the roasted nuts and handed them to Snakemon.

"Anyone else want some?" she asked as she held up the bag. Suddenly, all of the other Digimon had crowded around her.

"Uh, should I give them all some?" Marni asked uncertainly.

"Go ahead, Marni," Matt insisted. "The Digimon need to keep up their strength so they'll be able to fight and digivolve."

"All righty, then," Marni replied as she started to pass out the peanuts to all of the Digimon.

Gatomon walked back to where Kari was sitting with her paws full of peanuts. "Here, Kari, have some," she offered, holding out her paws.

"Thanks, Gatomon," Kari replied as she took some peanuts from Gatomon's paws.

"How much further is it?" Marisa asked Tai, who was sitting next to Kari.

"Well, we should be at Server soon. Right, Whamon?" Tai asked, looking up.

"I can see land right now, Tai," Whamon replied. "We should be there in about fifteen minutes." Everyone cheered when they heard this news.

"Did you hear that, Zack? We're almost there," Cheetamon told him with his mouth full of peanuts. Zack chuckled a bit.

Cheetamon swallowed the peanuts and asked, "What's so funny?"

"You talk funny with your mouth full," Zack explained. "Didn't your mother teach you any manners?"

"Umm, what's a mother?" Cheetamon asked curiously.

Zack arched an eyebrow as he was thinking, _You gotta be kidding me!_

Before he could reply, there was a huge crash heard outside. The interior shook violently and everyone got knocked down.

"What happened, Whamon?" Gomamon asked.

"Something ran into me underwater. I didn't get a good look at it, though," Whamon admitted.

"I hope it's not an evil Digimon," Joe whimpered as he sat on his knees.

"Come on, Joe! Don't be such a 'fraidy cat," Gomamon exclaimed.

"Watch it!" Gatomon retorted, holding up her fist. Gomamon chuckled nervously.

"I'm going up to the surface now, guys," Whamon explained. "We'll find out what I hit."

"Okay, let us know when you reach the surface, Whamon, and we'll come on up," Tai added.

"And how are we gonna do that?" Marni asked a bit sarcastically. "We'll go through there," Tai explained as he pointed up at Whamon's blowhole.

"Are you kidding?" Zack exclaimed ."And I thought going inside a whale was stupid! Now you expect us to climb through its blowhole?"

"Okay, I'm up at the surface now, Tai," Whamon interrupted.

"Great! Let's go!" Tai announced.

"You first, Mimi," Palmon told her. Marni, Marisa, Zack, and Yuuchi watched in astonishment as Palmon used her Poison Ivy to lift Mimi up to the blowhole...

"What's taking him so long?" Tai asked no one in particular.

Everyone was on top of Whamon, except for Zack, Cheetamon, and Palmon. He and Matt were waiting near his blowhole for Zack and Cheetamon.

Matt noticed the blowhole twitching a bit. "Here he comes," he told Tai.

Just then, Zack emerged from Whamon's blowhole. Palmon's vines were wrapped around his waist, and he was holding Cheetamon in his arms. Tai and Matt helped the two of them onto Whamon's back.

"Well, it's about time, Zack!" Tai exclaimed. "What took you so long? "

"Well, I was wondering, how is Palmon going to get out of there?" Zack asked, looking back at the blowhole. Palmon's vines could still be seen. Suddenly, Palmon pulled herself out of the hole.

"Way to go, Palmon," Mimi exclaimed as she hugged her Digimon.

Zack walked out to the others, who were looking out at the ocean. It was nighttime now, but the full moon and the stars provided enough light for them to see.

"So, has anyone seen anything suspicious?" Zack asked.

"Nothing out here but water, water, some more water, and that land that Whamon mentioned," Yuuchi explained, pointing at a distant stretch of land.

Suddenly, Whamon hit something, causing everyone to fall down on his back. "Sorry about that," he apologized.

"What's that?" Marisa asked, pointing at a metallic gray shell that was peeking out of the water a distance away.

"That could be Shellmon," Sora muttered out loud, "but his shell looks different. Looks like it's made out of metal."

"Hmm, I wonder..." Izzy muttered thoughtfully to himself as he sat down and opened up his laptop.

"What are you doing this time, Izzy?" Zack asked dully.

"I'm looking up this Digimon on my computer," he explained. "If I'm right about this, then we could be in serious trouble."

Izzy's suspicions were confirmed as two images came up on his screen. One was of Shellmon, and the other looked a lot like Shellmon, only it had a metal steel-gray shell complete with two missile launchers, dark green tentacles on its head, and a metallic pink body.

"Watch out, guys!" Izzy exclaimed. "That's Metal Shellmon!"

"That's what?" Yuuchi asked.

"You mean, Shellmon digivolved?" Tai exclaimed as he and Matt joined the others.

"How is that possible, Izzy?" Matt asked.

"Well, we never officially destroyed Shellmon, so given the eleven-plus years that have passed here in the Digiworld, Shellmon managed to digivolve to the next level," Izzy explained.

"Terrific," Zack muttered as Metal Shellmon rose out of the ocean...

"Come on, you guys," Agumon told the other Digimon. "Let's send him back to the bottom of the ocean!" The other Digimon nodded in approval.

"Spiral Twister!" Biyomon shouted.

"Fire Spin!" Chamelamon shouted. The two attacks nailed Metal Shellmon on the head, but it didn't even faze him.

"Poissson Sssting!" Snakemon shouted.

"Boom Bubble!" Patamon shouted. Patamon's Boom Bubble sent Snakemon's Poison Sting flying straight at Metal Shellmon. It hit him right on the snout, which made him even angrier.

"I think you just ticked him off even worse," Marni exclaimed.

"He wasss ticked off in the firssst placcce," Snakemon retorted.

"Pepper Breath!" Agumon shouted.

"Super Shocker!" Tentomon shouted.

"Psybeam!" Nanmimon shouted. All three attacks nailed Metal Shellmon right in the chin. Gomamon jumped off of Whamon into the water.

"Go, Marching Fishes!" he shouted. A small army of several differently colored fish flew out of the water and hit Metal Shellmon everywhere.

Gomamon's attack just irritated Metal Shellmon even more. Two white missiles with ice blue tips appeared at the missile launchers on his shell and were both fired. One of the missiles exploded within the flying fish, creating a shower of white mist. When the mist cleared away, the kids and their Digimon were shocked to see the now frozen fish dropping from the sky and hitting the water like rocks.

"That's gotta be his Ice Missile attack," Chamelamon exclaimed. "He turned all those poor fish into icicles!"

"They aren't the only ones that are gonna be turned into icicles," Zack exclaimed. He pointed at the other missile, which was heading straight toward them!

"Duck!" Joe yelled. Everyone did just that, but it was obvious that the missile would hit Whamon and his passengers.

"Joe!" Gomamon shouted. Suddenly, Zack noticed that Joe's digivice was reacting.

"Gomamon digivolve to...Ikkakumon!"

Zack glanced up to see a huge white walrus with a black horn on his forehead knock the missile away just in time. It hit the water, creating a small glacier where it landed.

"What the...?" he muttered as everyone looked up.

"All right, Ikkakumon!" Joe cheered. His Digimon nodded and focused his attention on Metal Shellmon.

"Harpoon Torpedo!" Ikkakumon shouted, shooting two torpedoes from his forehead. Both torpedoes nailed Metal Shellmon. He yowled in pain as he sank into the water.

"Yeah!" the kids and Digimon, except for Zack and Cheetamon, cheered.

Zack gasped when he saw the crop of dark green tentacles rising out of the water. "Don't celebrate yet!" he exclaimed. Joe and the others looked up to see Metal Shellmon ram Ikkakumon.

"We gotta help him," Marni exclaimed. She looked down at Snakemon. "Think you're up for digivolving again?" she asked.

"I'll try," Snakemon replied. He grunted and groaned, but nothing happened.

"Hey, what gives?" Marni exclaimed.

"It doesn't work like that, Marni," Tai explained.

"Well, someone has to do something," Zack muttered.

"Let me try, Zack," Cheetamon suggested.

"Are you crazy?" Zack exclaimed.

"I gotta try. Have some faith in me, Zack," Cheetamon told him.

Suddenly, Zack felt his digivice reacting. He looked back at Cheetamon, who was bathed in a bright white light.

"Cheetamon digivolve to...Panthramon!"

"We'll take care of this," the black cat growled. Panthramon was the biggest cat Zack had ever seen in his whole life, bigger than him even. It looked like a normal panther with razor sharp claws and a red gem on his forehead, and he still had the gold bracelets on his front paws. Zack watched in awe as Panthramon jumped into the air and landed on top of Metal Shellmon. The monster thrashed about violently, causing Panthramon to lose his grip. He flung himself off and landed on the same ice patch that Metal Shellmon created earlier.

"Razor Claw!" he shouted, jumping into the air and slashing the protective metal shell with his claws. Panthramon's claws managed to tear a hole in Metal Shellmon's shell, revealing his soft, vulnerable pink body underneath.

"Now, Ikkakumon!" Panthramon shouted after returning to the frozen platform.

"Harpoon Torpedo!" Ikkakumon shouted, shooting a couple of torpedoes at Metal Shellmon's exposed body.

The huge shell Digimon howled in pain as Ikkakumon's torpedoes exploded inside its shell. As Metal Shellmon disintegrated, a large black walkie-talkie fell into the water...

"That was incredible!" Zack exclaimed. As he watched Panthramon, he was surprised to see him de-digivolve back to Cheetamon. "What...just happened?" Zack asked slowly.

"He just returned to his Rookie stage, Zack," Marni explained. "Same thing happened with Cobramon. According to Izzy, when our Digimon get used to digivolving, they'll be able to stay in their Champion stages longer than before. Is that right, Izzy?"

"Precisely, Marni," Izzy confirmed.

"But, how is Cheetamon gonna get back here?" Zack asked.

"Hop on, Cheetamon. I'll give you a ride," Ikkakumon boomed as he swam by the small glacier.

Cheetamon jumped on Ikkakumon's back and held on as he headed back to Whamon. When Ikkakumon reached Whamon, Cheetamon jumped off and landed right in front of Zack.

"See, Zack? Like I told ya before, you just need to have a little faith in me," he reminded Zack.

"You did good out there, Cheetamon," Zack admitted, patting his Digimon on the head.

"You, too, Gomamon," he heard Joe say. Zack looked up to see Gomamon and Joe.

"Aww, Joe, stop it!" Gomamon complained.

"Well, now that that's over," Tai announced, "let's go back inside and get some shut-eye." Everyone nodded their head slowly, obviously showing signs of drowsiness.

As the kids started to head back inside of Whamon, Zack yawned and stretched out his arms. He looked out at the distant stretch of land. The sun had barely peeked over the white sandy beach and the barely visible forest.

"Zack, are you coming?" he heard Cheetamon ask.

Zack looked at his Digimon, smiled, and said, "Yeah, I'm coming." He took one final look at the mainland before joining Cheetamon and the others...TO BE CONTINUED


	4. Chamelamon Takes Flight

FROM THE DEPTHS

**Part 4: Chamelamon Takes Flight**

"Time to wake up, everyone! We're here!" the familiar voice of Whamon announced loudly. One by one, the twelve kids and their Digimon slowly woke up.

After letting out a long yawn, Tai managed to get out, "Thanks for the lift, Whamon."

"No problem, Tai. It was my pleasure," Whamon replied as he opened his mouth. Everyone shielded their eyes from the bright glow of the sun as they walked out of Whamon's mouth onto the beach.

"Hard to believe we were only asleep for a few minutes," Zack muttered out loud as he stretched out his arms.

"Actually, you were all asleep for a few hours," Whamon confessed. "You all needed some sleep, after everything that happened last night. Gotta go now. See you all later."

"Bye, Whamon!" T.K. shouted as he waved to Whamon.

"Goodbye!" Kari shouted soon after. Everyone waved as Whamon headed into deeper water and dove down.

"Hey, can we walk by the beach?" Marni asked.

"Sure, why not?" Tai replied as the group started to walk along the beach.

"Gee, we've only been here for one day, and already we've gotten into trouble," Yuuchi muttered out loud.

"That's nothing, Yuuchi," Sora told him. "Back when we arrived at the Digiworld for the first time, we'd run into a bad Digimon about every few minutes."

"Terrific!" Zack muttered under his breath.

"If this 'Armaggedamon' is as evil as we've been led to believe, than this isn't gonna be a simple walk in the park, guys," Izzy muttered thoughtfully.

"We've had good luck so far," Marni replied.

"Well, things never stay normal in this place," Matt muttered as he looked around. "Hey, what's that?" he asked, pointing to a brick road.

"It looks like a brick path," Marisa replied.

"I think we should follow it. Maybe it will lead to Gennai," Chamelamon added.

Marisa looked over the path nervously. The bricks were old and worn, and some of the bricks were missing, revealing the soft earth underneath.

"Come on! What are we standing around here for?" Marni retorted loudly. "Let's get going!" Without a second thought, she sped down the brick path in the woods, with Snakemon desperately trying to catch up with her.

"Hey, Marni! Wait up!" Tai shouted as he, Kari, Yuuchi, Joe, Sora, Izzy, Zack, Mimi, T.K., Matt, and their Digimon ran after her and Snakemon. Matt stopped running for a minute.

"What's wrong, Matt?" Gabumon asked.

"Nothing, Gabumon. I just realized we're missing someone," Matt replied, looking back toward the beach...

Marisa didn't follow the other kids right away. She turned her head and looked out at the ocean.

"Is something the matter, Marisa?" Chamelamon asked.

Marisa looked down at her Digimon, and then looked back out at the ocean. "No, I'm okay," she finally answered. "It's just that this is all so overwhelming. I'm in this bizarre world that I need to help save, along with my sister, and now I'm supposed to trust ten total strangers..." Marisa trailed off. She sat down on the warm white sand and let out a deep sigh.

"Are you okay, Marisa?" She jumped when she heard the voice.

Marisa turned her head and saw Matt and Gabumon standing behind her. "Yeah, I'm fine! Don't worry!" she stuttered a bit nervously as she stood up.

"Well, are you coming?" Matt asked a bit rudely.

Marisa was taken aback a little by Matt's remark. "Yes," she whispered with her head hanging down a bit. Matt shook his head and headed back down the path, with Gabumon following close behind.

"Come on, Chamelamon," Marisa told her Digimon as they hurried to catch up with the others...

"I wonder where they could have gone? It's not like Matt to wander off," Sora thought out loud.

"Not really, Sora. Remember, he's done it before," Joe reminded her.

"Well, that's true. I wonder where they could be," Sora muttered.

Suddenly, they heard some bushes moving nearby. The Digimon stood ready for a fight, but it just turned out to be Marisa, Matt, Chamelamon, and Gabumon.

"Hey, look who finally decided to show up!" Yuuchi remarked.

"About time," Zack retorted.

"Sorry," Marisa apologized.

"Can we get going before another Digimon attacks us?" Joe asked nervously.

"That's my Joe!" Gomamon admitted, trying to muffle his snickers. Everyone laughed along with Gomamon. Even Joe joined in.

"Joe's right, though. Let's keep moving," Tai admitted.

With that, the kids started to walk again. Marisa was tagging behind the rest of the kids. She suddenly stopped dead in her tracks.

"Why did you stop?" Chamelamon asked.

"I thought I heard something," Marisa muttered.

Suddenly, the bricks beneath her gave way. Marisa and Chamelamon screamed as they fell into a hole. They landed on a wooden foundation about six feet down.

"Oww!" Marisa groaned as she slowly sat up.

"Marisa, are you okay?"

Marisa looked up and saw Matt and Gabumon looking over the edge of the hole. "Yeah, I think so," she replied as she slowly stood up.

"Hold on. I'll try to get you out," Matt yelled.

"I'll help, too," Gabumon offered. The two of them tried to reach down for her hand, but they fell in as well.

"Hey! I thought you guys were supposed to be helping us," Chamelamon retorted.

Matt didn't say anything as he stood up and wiped the dust off of his shirt. He approached the side of the hole and tried to jump up to reach the edge, but it didn't work. After three or four more tries, Matt groaned out of frustration and turned around.

"Here, Marisa. I'll give you a boost," Matt suggested as he joined his hands together.

As Marisa tried to get out of the hole with Matt's help, Gabumon noticed that the ancient wooden foundation holding them up was starting to split from the excess weight.

"Uh...Matt, you better hurry up!" Gabumon exclaimed.

"Why, Gabumon?" Matt asked.

Suddenly, the wooden foundation broke from the excess weight. The two kids and their Digimon screamed as they fell down a pitch-black, bottomless pit...

"Did you hear that?" Marni asked. Everyone heard a loud noise, like wood splitting, followed by two screams. "Marisa!" she yelled as she ran back down the path, followed quickly by the others. They soon came across a huge, gaping hole in the brick path.

"Whoa! You can't even see the bottom!" Yuuchi exclaimed as he looked down into the massive pit.

"How did that happen?" Zack asked.

"Well, due to the fact that these bricks were old and worn out from weather, the excess weight from the twelve of us walking across caused it to cave in," Izzy explained.

"Yeah, whatever. The more important thing is that my sister's down there!" Marni yelled at Izzy rudely.

T.K. looked down the hole and yelled, "Matt! Are you down there?"

" 'Matt! Are you down there?' " his echo replied.

"Marisa! Can you hear me?" Marni yelled into the hole.

" 'Marisa! Can you hear me?' " her echo replied.

"I hope they're all right," she muttered out loud...

"Marisa?" Chamelamon asked with concern. She stood by Marisa's side, watching as her violet eyes slowly fluttered open.

"Chamelamon?" she asked in a whisper. Marisa slowly sat up and looked around. Gray stone walls surrounded her, or so it appeared. The area was dimly lit, so it was hard for Marisa to see. "What happened?" she asked uncertainly.

"Don't you remember? We fell through that old brick path," Chamelamon reminded her.

Marisa gasped when she realized that she wasn't the only one who fell. "Where's Matt and Gabumon?" she asked Chamelamon.

"Right here," Marisa heard Matt reply. She looked in the direction the voice came from and could barely make out the silhouettes of Matt and Gabumon in the shadows.

"Where have you two been?" Marisa asked as she stood up.

"We've been trying to find another way out of here," Gabumon explained.

"Did you find anything?" Chamelamon asked.

Matt nodded his head. "There's a tunnel over there," he explained, pointing at a dark spot within the stone walls. "Problem is, it's so dark that we can't see where we're going."

"There's gotta be a way we can see where we're going," Marisa muttered thoughtfully.

"Well, unless you have a flashlight, I think we're stuck," Matt retorted.

Suddenly, Marisa's foot hit something on the floor. Looking down, she recognized it as a piece of wooden board that broke from the foundation. "Maybe not, Matt," she replied as she picked up the piece of wood.

"What do you mean?" Matt asked.

"We can use this as a torch," Marisa explained, showing him the piece of wood in her hand.

"Good idea," Matt admitted. "We just need to light it up."

"I'll do it," Chamelamon offered. A small puff of fire flew from her mouth and lit the top of the makeshift torch.

"Thanks, Chamelamon," Marisa told her. With the cavern now lit, the two kids and their Digimon could see debris scattered all over the floor.

"You're right about that tunnel, Matt," Marisa replied as she looked down the tunnel that Matt mentioned earlier. "Let's just hope it leads us back to the top." She started to walk down the tunnel, with Chamelamon at her heels.

Matt took a quick look among the debris and found another piece of wood. As he picked it up, Gabumon asked, "What's that for, Matt?"

"We might need another torch, Gabumon," Matt explained.

"Hey, Matt! Gabumon!" they heard Marisa shout. "You gotta see this!"

Matt and Gabumon quickly ran through the tunnel and caught up with Marisa and Chamelamon. Matt gasped when he saw a massive cavern spread out before them. Twelve-foot stone walls criss-crossed all over the floor, creating a confusing labyrinth.

"What do we do now, Matt?" Marisa asked.

"Well, we can't turn around. Both of our Digimon can't fly, so we can't go back the way we came. We have no choice but to explore around here and try to find another way out," Matt explained.

"That'll take a while," Marisa muttered as she looked over the maze.

"Unless we split up," Matt suggested.

Marisa looked up at him. "Are you sure, Matt?" she asked. "It'd be easy to get lost in there."

Matt took his digivice off his jeans and held it in his hand. "Let me show you something, Marisa." She looked at his hand with the digivice.

Matt pointed at a black button on the side of the digivice. "If you press this button," he explained, "we'll still be able to find each other."

Matt pressed the button, and Marisa could see two red dots right next to each other. One was flashing, while the other was solid. "Those dots, are they you and me?" she asked.

Matt nodded his head. "Whenever you see this dot on your digivice," he explained, pointing at the flashing red dot, "that means there's someone near you with another digivice."

Marisa slowly nodded her head as though she understood. Matt put away his digivice and picked up the piece of wood he brought with him. Without a word, he stuck the tip of it in Marisa's torch, causing his to light up.

Matt noticed a stone staircase leading down from the ledge to the labyrinth. "This way," he told Marisa as the four of them walked down the stairs. When they approached the labyrinth, there were two separate entrances visible.

"I'll go this way, and you go that way," Matt told Marisa.

"Okay, but what if we come across an evil Digimon?" Marisa asked.

"Don't worry, Marisa. I'll protect you," Chamelamon assured her. "And Gabumon will take care of Matt."

Marisa looked up and noticed that Matt and Gabumon had already left. Shivers went up and down her spine. She shook it off as she headed for the other entrance.

"Let's go, Chamelamon," Marisa told her Digimon.

As they walked further into the maze, Chamelamon asked, "Are you all right, Marisa? You seem upset about something."

Marisa jumped nervously. "I-I'm not upset," she stuttered.

"You're lying," Chamelamon pointed out.

"It...It's Matt," Marisa reluctantly admitted. "He's been kind of rude to me today. First on the beach, then up there on that ledge, and then he leaves us without even saying anything..." She let out a frustrated sigh. "Matt acts too cool sometimes, and I don't like it. He's a bit self-absorbed, thinks only of himself."

Marisa and Chamelamon turned another corner and discovered a stone wall blocking their way. "A dead end," Marisa muttered.

Chamelamon was about to say something when she noticed some small carvings in the center of the wall. She walked closer so she could read it better. "Marisa, could you please come closer?" Chamelamon asked. "I need some more light."

"What for?" Marisa asked as she came closer.

"There's something written here in Digi-code," Chamelamon explained. Marisa held up the torch as Chamelamon looked over the series of carvings.

"What does it say?" Marisa finally asked.

" 'Warning to all Digimon. You have entered the Labyrinth of Minotaurmon. Turn around and leave while you still can,' " Chamelamon translated. The lizard Digimon gasped.

"What's a Minotaurmon?" Marisa asked.

"He's a huge bull Digimon with a nasty attitude," Chamelamon quickly explained. "Even worse, Minotaurmon works for Armaggedamon."

"We have to find Matt and Gabumon, and warn them," Marisa exclaimed. They quickly found their way back to the entrances and went into the one that Matt entered. Marisa and Chamelamon stopped when they reached an intersection.

"Which way now?" Chamelamon asked.

"I don't know," Marisa admitted. Then, she remembered what Matt showed her on his digivice. She took hers off of her shorts and pressed the black button. Instantly, a small map of the labyrinth and two red dots appeared, one flashing and one solid.

After carefully looking over the map, Marisa looked up and announced, "This way, Chamelamon." She turned right and ran down the path, followed by her Digimon...

Matt and Gabumon walked cautiously through the labyrinth. "I wonder what a labyrinth is doing all the way down here," Matt muttered out loud.

"I don't know," Gabumon admitted as they turned down another path. "What's that, Matt?" Gabumon asked, pointing at an old altar.

Matt shrugged in response. "Might as well check it out," he suggested, heading to the building.

Matt and Gabumon gasped when they entered the altar. There were tall white columns, forming a complete circle, and intrigue carvings everywhere. It reminded Matt of those old buildings from ancient Rome.

"Hey, Matt, look at that!" Gabumon exclaimed, pointing to a statue, which was standing on a marble pedestal, in the middle of the room. It was about nine and a half feet tall, and looked like a cross between a bull and a human. The creature had a spiked club in one hand and a long chain in the other.

"It looks so real," Gabumon pointed out.

"You're right, it does. Almost too real," Matt muttered thoughtfully.

Suddenly, the statue's eyes began to glow bright red. "Who dares enter my labyrinth? Be gone!" the bull Digimon snorted angrily as it stepped off of the pedestal.

"Matt, watch out! It's Minotaurmon!" Marisa shouted as she and Chamelamon ran into the building. She gasped when she saw the huge bull Digimon.

"I think it's safe to say that they already know," Chamelamon remarked.

"Gabumon, get ready," Matt told his Digimon.

"Right, Matt," Gabumon agreed as he ran toward Minotaurmon. "Gabumon digivolve to...Garurumon!" Marisa was shocked to see the huge blue wolf as he jumped on Minotaurmon.

"Come on, Marisa! We gotta get out of here, now!" Matt exclaimed. He grabbed Marisa's hand and they ran out of the temple, followed by Chamelamon.

"Do you really think he stands a chance against Minotaurmon?" Marisa asked as they continued down the maze of corridors.

Before Matt could answer, they heard Minotaurmon yell, "Blind Rage!"

Matt quickly pulled Marisa down to the ground and wrapped his arms around her for protection. Chamelamon ducked alongside them as a section of wall came tumbling down. They managed to avoid being buried in the rubble. When they opened their eyes, Matt, Marisa, and Chamelamon were shocked to see Garurumon lying on top of the pile of rubble.

"Garurumon!" Matt shouted. He let go of Marisa and ran toward his Digimon. "Are you all right?" he asked as Garurumon slowly tried to stand up.

"You should be worried more about yourself, kid!" Matt heard Minotaurmon yell. He turned around and saw Minotaurmon standing at the hole in the broken wall.

"Get out of the way," Garurumon shouted as he stood between Matt and Minotaurmon. "Howling Blaster!"

"Blind Rage!" Minotaurmon shouted as he swung his club. The club hit the blast of blue energy and hit Garurumon head on.

Minotaurmon chuckled sinisterly. "Now, it's your turn, kid. Grappling Chains!" he shouted. The long chain in his hand went flying straight toward Matt.

To Matt's surprise, before the chain could reach him, Marisa pushed him out of the way.

"Marisa!" Matt yelled as he watched the chain wrap itself tightly around Marisa. He tried to grab her, but Minotaurmon yanked hard on the chain, pulling Marisa out of Matt's reach.

"Not whom I originally wanted, but she'll do," Minotaurmon snorted as he looked at his prize.

"You better let her go, you big bully!" Chamelamon demanded.

"And what are you gonna do if I don't, little one?" Minotaurmon asked sarcastically.

"Fire Spin!" Chamelamon shouted.

Minotaurmon deflected her attack and shouted, "Blind Rage!" He swung his club, forming a boomerang of yellow energy. The boomerang nailed Chamelamon and sent her flying.

"Chamelamon!" Marisa shouted. Out of anger, she kicked Minotaurmon in the knee hard.

"Oww!" he groaned in pain. Anger was burning in his eyes as he stared at Marisa.

"You'll pay for that, Digi-Destined brat!" Minotaurmon yelled as he pulled the chain taunt around Marisa's body. Tears were welling up in her eyes from the overbearing pain.

"Stop it! You're hurting her!" Matt yelled.

Chamelamon slowly got up and saw the trouble Marisa was in. "MARISA!" she shouted.

Suddenly, Marisa's digivice went off. Knowing what was going to happen, Matt took a quick look at Chamelamon, who was now bathed in a white light. The brilliant light filled up the entire cavern.

"Ahh! That light!" Minotaurmon yelled as he covered his eyes, causing him to drop Marisa.

"Chamelamon digivolve to...Dragomon!"

Marisa was surprised beyond words. Standing where Chamelamon used to be was a huge deep burgundy dragon with a magenta belly.

She felt a gloved hand on her shoulder and looked up at Matt. "We better get out of the way," he explained as he removed the chains and helped her up. They ran out of the way as Dragomon prepared to face off against Minotaurmon.

"You really think you, a Champion Digimon, can fight me?" Minotaurmon asked sarcastically. Dragomon growled deeply as a response.

"Are you forgetting me, you overgrown ox?" a familiar voice growled.

"It's Garurumon!" Marisa exclaimed as the blue wolf Digimon leapt next to Dragomon.

"Oh, there's two of you now. I'm really scared!" Minotaurmon retorted. "Blind Rage!" he shouted, sending the boomerang of yellow energy straight at Dragomon.

Dragomon managed to fly out of the way of the attack. "Ready, Garurumon?" she asked.

Garurumon nodded his head. "Howling Blaster!" he shouted.

"Inferno Blast!" Dragomon shouted. She opened her mouth, and a massive blast of fire flew out.

Both attacks nailed Minotaurmon head on, burning him till all his dark brown fur was singed charcoal gray. He snorted out two puffs of smoke from his nostrils. "That's it! I'm outta here!" he yelled as he made a hasty retreat. As Minotaurmon ran, he dropped a black walkie-talkie, which broke as soon as it hit the ground.

"That was incredible, Dragomon," Marisa exclaimed as Dragomon landed on the ground next to her.

"Don't forget, Marisa. I'm here to protect you," Dragomon told her. Marisa smiled at her Digimon.

"You sure you're okay, Garurumon?" she heard Matt ask. Marisa turned around and saw Matt standing in front of an obviously exhausted Garurumon.

"I'm fine, Matt. Just a little tired," Garurumon muttered out loud. Suddenly, to Marisa's surprise, Garurumon de-digivolved back into Gabumon.

"Is he gonna be all right?" Marisa asked with concern.

"Don't worry about it, Marisa," Matt assured her as he helped Gabumon stand up.

Marisa looked back up at Dragomon and a smile slowly formed on her face. "I think I know a way out of here," she announced...

"Keep lowering me down," Marni shouted. She was about fifteen feet down the hole that her sister and Matt fell into. Back on the surface, Palmon was carefully lowering Marni down with her vines while everyone else watched.

"Do you see anything yet, Marni?" Tai yelled down the hole.

"I can't even see the bottom, Tai," Marni yelled back. "Keep lowering me down, Palmon."

Suddenly, the kids and their Digimon heard Marni scream, "Ahh! Pull me up! Pull me up!" Palmon quickly pulled Marni out of the hole and set her on solid ground.

As she took in several gasps of air, Izzy asked, "What's wrong, Marni? What did you see?"

"Dragon! Big, huge dragon!" Marni managed to get out between gasps.

"A dragon? Yeah, right," Yuuchi retorted.

"Are you calling me a liar? I know what I saw!" Marni shouted.

She was about ready to slug Yuuchi until Tai stepped in between them. "Calm down, Marni. This isn't helping your sister," he reminded Marni.

Marni groaned as she reluctantly put down her fist. All of a sudden, a roar was heard from inside the hole. All of the kids gasped when they heard this noise. As they looked toward the hole, a huge burgundy creature that looked a lot like a dragon flew out.

"See! I told you!" Marni yelled at Yuuchi.

"What do we do?" Zack asked.

"Well, I'm up for running away," Joe suggested nervously.

"For once, I agree with Joe," Sora remarked.

The dragon Digimon suddenly dove down toward the Digi-Destined and their Digimon. They screamed and ran down the brick path. The dragon Digimon flew ahead of them and landed on the brick path, blocking their path.

"Oh, no!" Mimi wailed. "I don't want to be a Digi- snack!"

"We have no choice! We gotta fight!" Tai told the others.

"No, don't hurt Dragomon!" they heard Marisa shout.

Marni looked up and was both surprised and relieved to see her sister standing next to Dragomon. "Marisa, you're okay!" she exclaimed.

"Marisa, where's my brother?" T.K. asked.

"Right here, T.K.," Matt told him as he and Gabumon climbed off of Dragomon's back.

"Matt!" T.K. exclaimed as he hugged Matt. Just then, Dragomon de-digivolved back to Chamelamon.

"So, that's the Champion form of Chamelamon? Hmm, interesting," Izzy muttered thoughtfully.

"That was totally wicked, Marisa," Marni exclaimed. Marisa giggled a bit.

"Now that Matt and Marisa are back, let's get going," Tai announced as he lead everyone down the path. Matt and Marisa were in back of the group.

"Hey, Marisa?" Matt asked.

"What?" Marisa asked.

"I'm sorry about earlier. I know I've been kinda rude to you before, and I want to apologize," he explained.

"No big deal, Matt. Forget about it," Marisa assured him.

"I also wanted to thank you, for saving me," Matt added.

"Well, you did the same for me, Matt," Marisa admitted as her cheeks turned red.

"Better hurry up, you two. We're losing the others!" Chamelamon exclaimed. Matt and Marisa looked up and realized that she was right.

"Come on, Marisa," Matt shouted as he and Gabumon ran after the others. Marisa smiled as she and Chamelamon tried to keep up with him...TO BE CONTINUED


	5. Neo Nanmimon at the DigiCarnival

FROM THE DEPTHS

**Part 5: Neo Nanmimon at the Digi-Carnival**

""Whew!" Yuuchi panted as he wiped the sweat from his forehead. The Digi- Destined had left the stretch of forest hours ago and were now crossing a seemingly endless desert. Suddenly, Yuuchi noticed something unusual in the distance and stopped walking.

"What's the matter, Yuuchi?" Nanmimon asked.

"Hey, why'd you stop?" Marni asked as she, Marisa, Zack, and their Digimon stopped to see what Yuuchi and Nanmimon were staring at.

"Do you guys see that?" Yuuchi asked, pointing at an upside-down pyramid in the distance. "Either my head's on the wrong way, or whoever built this thing had his head on the wrong way!" he remarked.

Marni laughed at his remark. "You're definitely right about that, Yuuchi," she admitted.

"Hey, what's the holdup?" Tai asked. Yuuchi and the other kids looked at Tai and his friends, who were looking at them curiously.

"I can't believe you guys just walked right past this without even looking!" Yuuchi exclaimed, pointing at the pyramid. "It's not every day you see an upside-down pyramid!"

"Yeah, I guess, but we've already seen it before," Tai explained. "Now, let's get going!" As Tai turned around, he suddenly tripped over a crumpled-up ball of paper and fell flat on his face.

"Are you all right, Tai?" Agumon asked as Tai got up and shook the sand out of his hair.

"Just terrific," Tai muttered.

Out of curiosity, Kari picked up the crumpled ball of paper and opened it up.

"What is it?" Gatomon asked as she looked up at Kari.

"It looks like a poster," Kari replied. Tai and the other kids looked over Kari's shoulders to see what the fuss was about.

"What the heck is a Digi-Carnival?" Marni asked.

"I'm guessing it's a carnival here in the Digiworld," Yuuchi replied a bit rudely.

" 'Digi-Carnival: Reopened. Free admission! Free rides! Free food! And a magic show!' " Tai read aloud.

"Sounds cool!" Yuuchi exclaimed.

"Hey, Patamon, do you think that the carnival's at that place where we first ran into Demidevimon?" T.K. asked curiously.

"Hmm...I think you're right, T.K.," Patamon replied.

"And where is this place, T.K.?" Marisa asked.

"Over there," T.K. told her, pointing at a patch of woods in the distance.

"How about we all go to this Digi- Carnival?" Marni suggested.

"Yeah!" Yuuchi exclaimed.

"Hold on," Izzy interrupted. "This carnival could be a trap to lure us out in the open."

"Izzy does have a good point," Joe agreed.

"Who made you two deputies of the Fun Police?" Yuuchi retorted, referring to both Izzy and Joe.

"I got an idea. Since we'll be passing this carnival anyway," Tai explained, "we'll at least check it out. If it looks suspicious, like there's no one there, we'll leave. If not, we'll stay for a while. Everyone okay with that?" The other kids nodded in approval.

"Okay, let's go!" Tai shouted as he led the way...

The kids had finally arrived at the Digi-Carnival. Next to the entrance was a ticket booth. Yuuchi peered inside the window. Sleeping on a chair was a green blob-like Digimon with purple spots and big bug eyes.

"What the heck is that?" Yuuchi whispered to Tai and Mimi, who were also looking through the window.

"It's a Numemon," Mimi whispered.

"Hey, wake up!" Tai shouted as he knocked loudly on the glass.

The Numemon woke up with a start and fell out of its chair. "What did you wake me up for, kid?" it asked as it rubbed its eyes.

"Tell us, is this for real?" Tai asked as he showed the Numemon the crumpled poster.

The Numemon looked over the flyer and replied, "Sure is, kid. This is the first day the Digi-Carnival reopened, so everything today is free."

"Come on, guys. Let's check this out," Tai announced to the others as they cautiously entered the carnival.

As they passed the ticket booth, the Numemon opened its window, popped its head out, and shouted, "Don't forget to check out our magic show! It's the best one in the Digiworld!"

As the twelve kids and their Digimon walked down the stone path, Yuuchi, Marni, Marisa, and Zack were taking everything in.

Yuuchi looked back at Tai and his friends, who were obviously tense about the situation. "Come on, guys! Loosen up a bit, will ya?" he retorted.

"We're just trying to be careful, Yuuchi," Matt replied. "This whole thing could be a trap, you know."

"Someone grab a fire extinguisher!" Zack exclaimed as he, Marni, and Marisa stopped dead in their tracks. "That guy's on fire!" He pointed at a tall fiery Digimon, whom the original Digi-Destined and their Digimon recognized.

"Don't worry, Zack. That's just Meramon," Biyomon explained. "He's a fiery Digimon, so he always looks like that." Meramon was passing out hot dogs and peanuts to a group of Yokomon.

"Look, Tai. Koromon!" Agumon exclaimed, recognizing his In-Training form. The small group of Koromon were gathered around the dunk booth game. The Digi-Destined stopped and watched as one of the Koromon hopped on top of a small crate.

"Come on, Koromon! Hit me with your best shot!" a Numemon taunted the Koromon from inside the dunk booth.

The Koromon ignored the Numemon as he focused on the target. "Bubble Blow!" he shouted before spitting out three pink bubbles.

The first two bubbles missed the target, but the last one nailed it head on. The Numemon gasped as the seat dropped below him and he landed in a pool of water. The Koromon and the kids laughed out loud.

"He's all wet," Yuuchi remarked.

"Here you go!" another Numemon announced as he handed the winning Koromon his prize: a small stuffed Monzaemon toy.

"Congratulations!" the other Koromon chorused as they all left the dunk booth game.

"Lookit! It's Frigimon!" T.K. exclaimed.

"Looks like a walking snowman," Marni muttered out loud as the Frigimon walked past them, pushing an ice cream cart.

"So, Tai, can we stay here for a while?" Yuuchi asked cautiously. Tai was thinking quietly about it.

"Well, since there are so many of our old friends here, I don't see why we can't stay, Tai. We could use the break," Izzy informed him.

"Well...okay," Tai finally replied.

"Yeah!" the rest of the group cheered.

"How about we meet by the entrance in three hours?" Tai suggested. The other kids nodded in agreement.

"Come on, Marisa! Let's go on the roller coaster!" Marni exclaimed, dragging her sister away from the group.

"Wait for usss!" Snakemon shouted as he and Chamelamon tried to keep up.

"Matt, can we play some games, please?" T.K. pleaded.

"Sure, T.K.," Matt replied as the two of them, followed by Gabumon and Patamon, headed for the game booths.

"I'm going on the Ferris wheel," Sora announced as she headed toward the Ferris wheel on the distance, followed by Biyomon.

"Mind if Palmon and I join you, Sora?" Mimi asked.

"Sure, Mimi," Sora replied as the two girls and their Digimon headed for the Ferris wheel.

"Tai?" Kari asked.

"What is it, Kari?" Tai asked.

"Can we go to the magic show?" Kari requested.

"Sure, Kari," Tai replied as they walked away.

Cheetamon's stomach suddenly growled loudly. "Zack, I'm hungry," he told his human friend.

"That's kind of obvious," Zack muttered. "Come to think of it, I'm kind of hungry, too. We'll get some hot dogs."

"What's a hot dog?" Cheetamon asked as they headed back toward Meramon. Izzy, Tentomon, Joe, and Gomamon all groaned simultaneously out of hunger.

"Looks like we agree with Zack and Cheetamon," Izzy replied. They ran in the same direction Zack and Cheetamon went, leaving Yuuchi and Nanmimon by themselves.

"Should we go with them?" Nanmimon asked.

"Nah! Let's check out the carnival," Yuuchi suggested. The two of them continued down the path.

"You know, I haven't been to one of these in a long time," Yuuchi admitted as he looked around.

"Looks like fun, Yuuchi," Nanmimon admitted as he looked around. But something about this place didn't feel right to the Digimon. "However, I'm getting a bad feeling about this place," he admitted, looking up at his human friend.

"You know, sometimes I think Joe and I accidentally got our Digimon switched. You worry too much," Yuuchi retorted, grinning at Nanmimon.

"Are you saying Gomamon's more fun than me?" his Digimon asked a bit hurtfully.

Yuuchi soon realized that he just hurt Nanmimon's feelings. "I'm sorry, Nanmimon. I didn't mean that," he solemnly apologized.

Nanmimon looked up at him and smiled slightly. "Thanks, Yuuchi," he replied. "Now, come on! This is a carnival, so let's have some fun!" Nanmimon galloped ahead as Yuuchi tried to keep up with him...

Meanwhile, Tai, Agumon, Kari, and Gatomon were sitting on a long wooden bench inside a small tent. There were a few more long benches, which were mostly crowded with Yokomon, Koromon, and Numemon. In front of the benches was a stage with red curtains. A spotlight appeared on stage, revealing a Numemon dressed in a red-and-white pinstriped jacket and white wide-brimmed straw hat.

"Ladies, gentlemen, children, and Digimon!" the Numemon yelled. "Presenting the greatest magic act in the entire world, please put your hands together for...Houdinimon!"

Everyone applauded as the Digimon stepped on stage, pushing a small table covered by a tablecloth with him. He was dressed in a deep violet tuxedo with matching cape, and a top hat. A white mask with a black diamond on the cheek covered half of his face. He also carried a black cane with a silver handle.

"Welcome, everyone!" Houdinimon greeted. He tapped the handle of his cane against the table, and a bouquet of flowers appeared.

Everyone applauded as Houdinimon handed the flowers to a Yokomon in the front row. As Houdinimon got back on stage, he took off his top hat, revealing slicked-back reddish-brown hair.

"As you all can clearly see," Houdinimon announced as he showed everyone the empty hat, "there is absolutely nothing inside. But, if you watch very carefully..." He placed the hat on the table and stuck first his hand, then his arm inside the hat.

"How can he do that, Tai?" Agumon whispered as he looked up questionably at Tai.

"It's just a trick, Agumon," Tai whispered. "You see, that table has a hole in it, and whatever he's gonna pull out of his hat is right underneath the table."

To Tai and Agumon's surprise, Houdinimon no longer had the hat on the table. It was still halfway down his arm, though. Using his other hand, Houdinimon slowly removed the hat from his arm. Balancing the hat in one hand, Houdinimon removed his hand from the hat, pulling out a Gazimon by its ears. Everyone gasped and then applauded. Houdinimon let go of the Gazimon and they both bowed.

As the Gazimon stepped off of the stage, Houdinimon announced, "For my next trick, I'll need a volunteer."

The Koromon and Yokomon bounced up and down on the benches. "Pick me! Pick me! Pick me!" they chanted as Houdinimon looked over the audience.

"How about...you? The young girl sitting next to the Gatomon," Houdinimon announced.

"Me?" Kari asked as she pointed to herself.

"Yes, you. Come up here, please," Houdinimon insisted. Kari got off of the bench and joined Houdinimon on stage. "What's your name?"

"Kari," she replied.

"Please give a hand for Kari, everyone," Houdinimon announced.

As everyone applauded, the same Gazimon from earlier brought a large blue box decorated with gold stars on stage.

"As you all can plainly see," Houdinimon explained as he opened the door, "there's nothing inside this box. No trap doors, no secret chambers." He took his cane and hit it against the walls inside the box to prove his point. "Will you please step inside, Kari?"

Without hesitating, Kari stepped inside, and Houdinimon closed the door. He spun the box around clockwise, held up his cane, and tapped the top of the box. A thick puff of smoke appeared and the door popped open. Tai, Agumon, Gatomon, and the other Digimon gasped when they saw that Kari had disappeared.

"Did you see that?" Agumon exclaimed.

Tai slowly nodded his head.

"He's gonna bring her back, right, Tai?" Gatomon asked, who was obviously a bit worried.

"Of course, he'll bring her back," Tai assured his sister's Digimon.

"As you all know, this trick is only halfway done," Houdinimon announced as he closed the box and quickly spun it around counterclockwise.

Once again, Houdinimon tapped the top of the bow with his cane. The door popped open, and there was Kari standing inside. Everyone applauded as Kari stepped out of the box with Houdinimon's help.

"See, Gatomon? Kari's fine," Tai told Gatomon as they clapped along with everyone else.

"Give a hand for my assistant, Kari," Houdinimon yelled. He and Kari bowed to the audience.

"Here, Kari. This is for you," Houdinimon whispered as he extended a closed fist in front of Kari. The young girl watched as he opened his fist. She gasped when she saw the violet-blue rose resting in Houdinimon's hand.

"It's pretty," Kari commented.

"This is a gift from me, for being such a good assistant, Kari," Houdinimon explained.

"Thank you, Houdinimon," Kari thanked him as she took the rose from his hand. She got off the stage and rejoined Tai, Agumon, and Gatomon...

The group of four headed out of the tent after the show was done, along with the crowd of Yokomon and Koromon. They looked around the crowd of mostly Digimon until they saw two familiar faces.

"Hey, Yuuchi! Nanmimon!" Kari shouted, waving her hand. Yuuchi looked around until he found them and ran to Kari and Tai.

"Hey, having fun?" Yuuchi asked them.

"Yeah, we saw this magic show just a little while ago," Tai admitted.

"And Houdinimon gave me this flower," Kari added, showing the flower to Yuuchi before smelling it. "Smells...nice," she murmured before falling to the ground.

"Kari?" Tai asked as he immediately came to her side and lifted her up into a sitting position.

Yuuchi looked curiously at the violet-blue rose, which was now lying on the ground. He bent down and was about to pick it up when Nanmimon shouted, "Yuuchi, don't!"

"Why? What's wrong, Nanmimon?" Yuuchi asked.

"I recognize that flower. Its scent can put any human or Digimon to sleep," Nanmimon explained.

"Wait until I get my claws on that magician..." Gatomon muttered angrily.

"I wonder why that guy would want Kari asleep," Yuuchi muttered out loud.

"Maybe he didn't know that flower could put people to sleep," Agumon suggested.

"Hold on. Did Kari say the Digimon's name was Houdinimon?" Nanmimon asked.

"Yeah, that's him. Why?" Tai asked.

"Believe me, Houdinimon knew that rose would put Kari to sleep," Nanmimon muttered out loud.

"Don't tell me. Houdinimon's an evil Digimon working for Armaggedamon, right?" Yuuchi guessed.

"Afraid so," Nanmimon replied. "Houdinimon is very powerful. He can create illusions so real that anyone could be fooled."

Yuuchi suddenly realized what was going on. "You mean this whole thing is an illusion?" he exclaimed.

"Must be. He did it to draw us out," Nanmimon explained. "I'll bet everything we saw was not real, like the Koromon. Houdinimon created them to fool you and your friends, Tai. To make things worse, everyone's scattered all over the carnival. Houdinimon might have already captured them."

"You're just full of good news, aren't you, Nanmimon?" Yuuchi retorted sarcastically.

"Nanmimon, will Kari ever wake up?" Gatomon asked worriedly.

"Not on her own," Nanmimon replied.

"Then how are we gonna wake her up?" Tai asked.

"The only known cure is a rare flower that grows in the desert. Come to think of it, I think I saw that flower on the way here!"

"Don't worry, Tai. We'll get that flower for Kari," Yuuchi announced.

"Okay, but someone has to go find the others before Houdinimon does," Tai muttered, looking down at his sleeping sister. "But, I can't leave Kari by herself, and I can't carry her all around the carnival."

"Leave her here, Tai. I'll look after her," Gatomon told him.

"Okay," Tai agreed a bit hesitantly.

"We'll be back soon with that flower, Tai," Yuuchi assured him as he and Nanmimon headed for the entrance.

"Let's hurry, Agumon. We gotta find the others, and quick!" Tai exclaimed. He and Agumon ran out from the space between the two tents, leaving Gatomon to guard Kari...

"Hey, what's going on?" Mimi exclaimed. The Ferris wheel had suddenly stopped, leaving her, Sora, Biyomon, and Palmon hanging on top of the Ferris wheel.

"What'd you do that for?" Biyomon yelled down at the Numemon who had pulled the lever running the Ferris wheel. The Numemon looked up at them and disappeared into thin air. The two girls and their Digimon gasped.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Sora reluctantly admitted. "Izzy might be right about this being a trap. Numemon don't just disappear like that!"

"Maybe I can get the Ferris wheel started again," Palmon thought aloud. "Poison Ivy!" She extended her vines as far as she could, but she couldn't reach the lever.

"Almost got it," Palmon grunted as she leaned forward in the seat. Everyone screamed as the seat nearly tipped over. Palmon almost fell out of the seat, but Mimi, with Sora's help, caught her and managed to pull her back in.

"Thank you, Mimi," Palmon exclaimed.

"Looks like we're stuck here for now," Sora muttered...

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm stuffed!" Cheetamon exclaimed.

"No kidding, Cheetamon! You had, like, a dozen hot dogs!" Zack retorted.

"To be more precise, it was actually fifteen hot dogs," Izzy added.

"But, they were good," Cheetamon remarked.

"Why do they call them hot dogs, Joe?" Gomamon asked Joe, looking over the half-eaten hot dog in his paw. "Is it because they're made out of dogs?"

"No, of course not!" Joe shouted.

"If that was true, I wouldn't eat a hot dog ever again," Zack muttered sarcastically. Izzy, Joe, Tentomon, Gomamon, and Cheetamon laughed at Zack's comment. Zack eventually joined in. Suddenly, a huge net dropped down on them.

"Hey!" Izzy exclaimed as he and his friends tried to get the net off. They only ended up getting tangled in it. The three boys and their Digimon watched helplessly as four Numemon grabbed the net and threw them into a nearby tent.

"Oww!" Zack yelled as they hit the hard-packed earth.

"Excellent job! You're no longer needed," a voice replied from the shadows. To the kids' surprise, the Numemon disappeared into thin air.

"That's impossible!" Izzy exclaimed. "Numemon can't just disappear like that!"

"Wise up, kid. That was just an illusion," the voice replied again. A pair of glowing red eyes appeared from the shadows where the voice came from. They could barely make out the silhouette of someone dressed in a tuxedo, cape, and top hat.

The Digimon chuckled sinisterly as he stepped out of the shadows.

"Who is that?" Joe asked.

"Oh, how rude of me not to introduce myself," the Digimon exclaimed sarcastically as he took off his hat and bowed gracefully. "The name is Houdinimon."

"I know that name!" Cheetamon exclaimed. "You're one of Armaggedamon's hench-mon!"

"So true, so true," Houdinimon gloated. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have other business to attend to, such as capturing the rest of the Digi-Destined. Farewell, for now."

With that, Houdinimon left, leaving Zack, Izzy, Joe, Cheetamon, Tentomon, and Gomamon alone in the tent...

"Aww! You missed again," T.K. exclaimed. He and Matt were at the milk bottle game. Matt just threw his second ball at the stack of six metal milk bottles, but it barely nicked the top bottle. Now he only had one ball left.

"I'm just a little tired, T.K.," Matt explained. "We've been playing games for almost an hour now. Anyway, I heard they booby-trap this kind of game. They glue the bottles together so no one can knock them down."

"Stop making up excuses, Matt," Marni interrupted. Matt and T.K. looked up and saw Marni and Marisa standing next to them.

"What are you saying, Marni?" Matt asked a bit suspiciously.

"You're just making up stuff 'cause you throw like a girl!" Marni retorted.

"I do not! You better take that back, Marni!" Matt yelled.

"Stop it, you two," Marisa interrupted, stepping in between them.

"What? I'm just telling him the truth, Marisa," Marni explained as she picked up the last ball. She took a pitcher's stance, looked carefully at the target, and pitched the ball as hard as she could. The ball connected and knocked down all six milk bottles.

"Niccce job, Marni!" Snakemon exclaimed.

Marni had a smug smile on her face. "Come on," she told Snakemon as they walked away.

Marisa noticed that Matt was looking down at the ground, his face red with embarrassment. "Don't let her get to you, Matt," she told him. "Marni likes to show off, even if she ends up embarrassing someone in the process."

"Hey, guys! Listen up!" they heard Tai yell. Matt, Marisa, T.K., and Marni noticed Tai and Agumon running toward them.

"What's wrong, Tai?" Marni asked.

"And where's Kari?" T.K. asked.

"Guys, this whole carnival is a trap," Tai started.

"There's this Digimon called Houdinimon who's running this place, and it turns out he works for Armaggedamon," Agumon added. The kids gasped when they heard this.

"To make things worse, that creep gave some weird flower to Kari that put her to sleep!" Tai muttered angrily.

"Where is she, Tai?" Marisa asked.

"She's in between the two tents near the entrance. Gatomon's keeping an eye on her, and Yuuchi and Nanmimon are getting some flower that's supposed to wake her up," Tai explained. "We gotta warn the others about Houdinimon before it's too late."

"T.K., I want you to go to where Kari is," Matt told his little brother. "Someone needs to stay with her to protect her. Think you can handle that?"

"I'll do my best, Matt," T.K. agreed as he ran off, followed by Patamon. After T.K. and Patamon left, the four kids started to look for the others. They looked all over the place with no luck.

"Where could they have gone?" Marisa asked, looking around.

"Who knows?" Matt muttered.

"Perhaps I know where your friends are," a voice replied. The kids turned around and saw Houdinimon in the shadows.

"It's Houdinimon!" Agumon exclaimed.

"Where are our friends?" Tai shouted angrily.

The Digimon smirked a bit. "If you wish to find your friends, follow me," he remarked, running off.

"I don't know if we should trust him," Chamelamon replied uncertainly.

"We don't really have a choice," Tai muttered angrily, running off in the direction Houdinimon went.

"Tai, wait up!" Matt shouted as he, Marni, Marisa, and their Digimon tried to keep up with Tai and Agumon. They eventually came upon a big building.

" 'House of Mirrors?' " Marni read from the sign.

"He went in there. I'm sure of it," Gabumon added.

"We might as well go in. We looked everywhere else," Matt reminded the others. The four kids and their Digimon walked up the steps and into the House of Mirrors, only to find dozens of mirrors.

"Am I the only one who thinks this place is just screaming 'TRAP?' " Marni asked sarcastically. Everyone ignored her as they carefully looked around at the surrounding mirrors.

"Look out!" Matt shouted. The others turned their heads and saw Houdinimon standing in plain sight.

"I'll get him, Tai. Pepper Breath!" Agumon shouted. The ball of fire hit Houdinimon, or so they thought.

"Aww, man!" Tai exclaimed as he stepped toward the mirror with a round black charred mark right in the center. "It was just his reflection. We missed him!" Out of frustration, he punched the slightly charred mirror, leaving a noticeable dent in the glass.

Just then, Houdinimon laughed abruptly. His sinister laugh echoed throughout the room.

"Where did that come from?" Marisa asked fearfully. She backed up, constantly turning her head, until her back hit one of the several mirrors.

Suddenly, Marisa felt herself being pulled into the mirror! "Somebody help me!" she screamed.

"Marisa!" Chamelamon shouted as she tried to pull Marisa out. Unfortunately, both Marisa and Chamelamon were pulled into the mirror.

"Marisa?" Marni shouted as she examined the mirror. She looked at Matt and Tai, who were in shock. "Well, don't just stand there!" she yelled angrily. "Help me out here, guys!" Tai and Matt approached the mirror and helped Marni look for and sort of lever or trap door.

"Marni!" they suddenly heard Marisa shout from behind them. She was in another mirror right behind them.

"Marisa? How did you get over there?" Marni asked as she walked toward the other mirror.

Snakemon eyed the entrapped Marisa uncertainly. _If that'sss really Marisssa, then where'sss Chamelamon?_ he thought to himself.

"Marni, get away from there! It'sss a trap!" Snakemon shouted.

Marni stopped just a few feet short from the mirror. As she turned her head, the reflection of Marisa became furious and changed into Houdinimon. He reached through the mirror, grabbed Marni's arm, and pulled her into the mirror. Snakemon tried to grab her, but he got pulled into the mirror as well.

"Marni!" Tai shouted as he examined the mirror.

"Don't touch the mirrors, Tai," Matt warned him. "That's probably how Marni and Marisa got trapped."

Suddenly, Agumon saw Houdinimon stepping out of one of the mirrors. "Look, there he is!" he shouted, pointing at the retreating Digimon.

"We got him now!" Tai exclaimed as he, Agumon, Matt, and Gabumon ran after Houdinimon. They headed down a short hallway, which led into another room of mirrors. They found Houdinimon inside yet another mirror, chuckling sinisterly.

"Come out and fight, Houdinimon!" Tai shouted.

"Why should I fight by your rules, Digi-Destined? You're in my world now," Houdinimon reminded him.

"You can't trick us into falling for your mirror traps," Matt told him. "You're all out of tricks."

"Don't be so sure. Hankie Wrap!" Houdinimon shouted. He opened his jacket, and four separate chains of colorful handkerchiefs flew out.

The chains of handkerchiefs wrapped themselves tightly around Tai, Agumon, Matt, and Gabumon. As they each fell to the ground, Houdinimon finally stepped out of the mirror.

"Agumon, digivolve!" Tai shouted to his Digimon friend.

"You, too, Gabumon!" Matt added.

"Try if you wish, but your Digimon won't be able to digivolve," Houdinimon sneered.

"And why not?" Tai demanded as he tried to squirm out of the chain of hankies.

"All of my traps are Digi-proof," Houdinimon explained. "Now, with you two out of the way, I only have three more Digi-Destined kids to find. There's your little sister, your little brother, and also that boy with the Nanmimon." Houdinimon laughed sinisterly as he walked past the two kids and their Digimon, who were still tied up.

"Did you hear that, Tai?" Matt asked. "T.K., Kari, and Yuuchi are the only ones left. Houdinimon captured everyone else." Tai reluctantly nodded his head.

"Problem is that with Kari asleep, Gatomon can't digivolve," Tai admitted, "and Yuuchi and Nanmimon are still out in the desert somewhere. Looks like it's all up to T.K. and Patamon now..."

Meanwhile, Yuuchi and Nanmimon had returned to the Digi-Carnival. In Yuuchi's hand was a small bright orange flower that looked similar to a poppy.

"Do you see that, Yuuchi?" Nanmimon asked.

Yuuchi looked around and noticed that the carnival was totally empty. A thin gray haze filled the empty streets, rides, and booths. The boy felt shivers going up and down his spine.

"I sure do," Yuuchi admitted as he shook off the feeling.

"I knew there was something strange about this place," Nanmimon muttered as they carefully made their way to Kari's hiding spot.

"So, what are we supposed to do as soon as we get to Kari?" Yuuchi asked, looking at his Digimon.

"All she has to do is smell it," Nanmimon told him.

"That's it? Nothing harder?" Yuuchi asked surprisingly.

"Nope, that's it. Easy, huh?" Nanmimon asked. Yuuchi simply nodded his head in agreement. They approached where they had left Kari.

"T.K.? What are you doing here? Why aren't you with your brother, Matt?" Yuuchi asked out of surprise.

"He told me to come here and watch Kari until you came back," T.K. explained.

"Yuuchi, you're wasting time," Nanmimon reminded him.

"Sorry," Yuuchi apologized. He walked over to Kari, and placed the bright orange flower under her nose.

In a few moments, Kari slowly opened her eyes and looked around. "What happened? Did I fall asleep?" she asked curiously.

"Yeah. Houdinimon made you fall asleep with that rose he gave you," Gatomon explained, pointing at the violet-blue rose lying on the ground.

"Surprising such a pretty flower can be so troublesome," Kari muttered.

"Yeah," T.K. added.

"So, this is where you've been hiding? At least I don't have to look for you," a familiar voice boomed. Standing before them was Houdinimon.

"You could have hurt Kari!" Gatomon shouted angrily.

"Oh, really? I'm SO sorry," Houdinimon retorted sarcastically. His crude remark only made Gatomon more furious.

"Lightning Paw!" Gatomon shouted as she leapt at Houdinimon. He snickered as he simply swung his arm at Gatomon, hitting her in the stomach.

"Gatomon!" Kari shouted as her Digimon sailed over their heads and went through the entrance of the main tent behind them. Kari stood up and ran into the tent, followed by T.K., Patamon, Yuuchi, and Nanmimon.

"Gatomon!" Kari gasped. Gatomon was leaning against the tent's support beam, obviously knocked out.

"Oh, Gatomon. You'll be okay," Kari whispered softly as she picked up the cat Digimon and cradled her in her arms.

Gatomon slowly opened her eyes. "Kari?" she mumbled, looking at the young girl.

Yuuchi gasped when he saw Houdinimon hover inside the tent. "T.K., Kari, look out!" he shouted.

"What's wrong, my friends? Not enjoying the show?" Houdinimon asked sarcastically. "Time for a little Card Trick!"

Three playing cards appeared in his hand and he flung each one at Yuuchi, T.K., and Kari. The card sent toward Yuuchi exploded above his head, causing a cloud of thick smoke to rain down on him and Nanmimon. They coughed as they tried to clear away the smoke.

"Oh, no!" T.K. exclaimed as one of the cards flew straight toward him.

"T.K.!" Patamon shouted. T.K.'s digivice suddenly went off.

"Patamon digivolve to...Angemon!"

Using his gold staff, Angemon knocked the card away from T.K. The card exploded a good distance away from them. Kari gasped as the card flew right past her head, cutting off a few strands of her hair, and embedded itself in the support beam.

"That does it!" Gatomon shouted as she jumped out of Kari's arms.

Through the smoke, Yuuchi could barely see a small dot of pink light. As the smoke cleared, Yuuchi noticed that the strange pink glow was coming from Kari's chest.

"Gatomon digivolve to...Angewomon!"

Yuuchi gasped when he saw the two newly digivolved Digimon. "No way! Angels?" he exclaimed.

"Hand of Fate!" Angemon shouted.

"Celestial Arrow!" Angewomon shouted. The two attacks nailed Houdinimon in the chest and for a moment, it looked like he was defeated.

"All right!" T.K. exclaimed.

"Don't get your hopes up, kid!" Houdinimon snapped as he stood up. "Danger Illusion!" He flung out his arms, and a gold powder spread from his hands and gathered together, forming a tall, thin figure. When the figure was complete, T.K. and Kari gasped.

"It's Myotismon!" Kari exclaimed. The sinister vampire chuckled sinisterly as he eyed the young girl and Angewomon.

"Don't worry, Kari," Angewomon assured her as she prepared to attack Myotismon.

"No! Don't, Angewomon!" Nanmimon shouted. His warning came too late.

"Celestial Arrow!" Angewomon shouted as she shot one of her arrows. To everyone's surprise, the arrow nailed Myotismon, but he wasn't fazed at all.

"I tried to warn you, Angewomon," Nanmimon reminded her. "That's Houdinimon's Danger Illusion. He'll create an illusion of an old enemy that looks just like the real Digimon. The illusion can't hurt you unless it absorbs energy from one of your attacks."

"Attack, Myotismon," Houdinimon instructed his illusion.

The illusion of Myotismon nodded. "Crimson Lightning!" he shouted. The familiar bolt of red lightning appeared and struck Angewomon right in the stomach.

"No, Angewomon!" Kari shouted as her Digimon flew overhead and crashed right onto the stage.

Myotismon then focused on T.K. and Yuuchi. "Grisly Wing!" he shouted, sending out his army of black bats. Yuuchi tried to swat away the bats around him and Nanmimon.

"Hand of Fate!" Angemon shouted. His attack managed to disintegrate some of the bats.

"How are we gonna get rid of this Myotismon if we can't even destroy him?" Yuuchi asked as he continued swatting at the bats. Nanmimon's lavender eyes focused on Houdinimon, who was watching the battle with amusement.

"You attack the source," Nanmimon muttered out loud as he galloped toward Houdinimon. "Psybeam!" he shouted. The beam of light emitted from his forehead nailed Houdinimon in the chest. Since he wasn't expecting the attack, Houdinimon lost his concentration and the images of Myotismon and the bats disappeared.

"You'll pay for that!" Houdinimon yelled angrily as he knocked Nanmimon over to one side. The horse-like Digimon hit the support beam hard, knocking him out cold.

"Nanmimon! NO!" Yuuchi shouted. He turned around and realized that Houdinimon's cold eyes were now focused on him.

"You're gonna pay for what your Digimon did to me," Houdinimon yelled angrily as he steadily approached the boy.

"Hey, I didn't even tell him to attack you!" Yuuchi admitted nervously as he backed away. His green eyes quickly glanced over at T.K., Kari, and Angemon, who was helping Angewomon get up.

"T.K., Kari, get outta here now!" Yuuchi shouted to them. The two kids reluctantly left the tent. Angemon followed them, carrying Angewomon in his arms.

"Those two won't go far," Houdinimon told Yuuchi. "But, for now, I'll settle for you."

As this was going on, Nanmimon was slowly regaining consciousness. "Huh?" he muttered as his eyes steadily came into focus. He gasped when he saw Houdinimon about to attack Yuuchi.

"Yuuchi!" Nanmimon shouted.

Suddenly, Yuuchi felt something vibrating like crazy on his waist. He quickly looked down and saw that it was his digivice going off. "Ahh! That light!" Houdinimon shouted as he let go of Yuuchi and shielded his eyes with his cape. Yuuchi looked up and noticed that the light was coming from Nanmimon.

"No way! He's digivolving!" Yuuchi exclaimed.

"Nanmimon digivolve to...Neo Nanmimon!"

Yuuchi looked in astonishment at the huge gray horse standing where Nanmimon once was. He had bright yellow hooves, a navy blue mane and tail, and a dark turquoise stripe running down the center of his face. Neo Nanmimon still had the green triangle on his face, but his eyes have changed. They were now a deep violet.

"Okay, Neo Nanmimon. Let's get that creep!" Yuuchi shouted.

"A newly digivolved Digimon doesn't scare me. Card Trick!" Houdinimon shouted, flinging two cards straight at Neo Nanmimon.

"Psychic Blast!" Neo Nanmimon shouted. His eyes glowed bright and a beam came from them, destroying the cards.

"Psychic Blast!" he shouted again, launching a blast of psychic power at Houdinimon. Houdinimon dodged the attack, reappeared behind Neo Nanmimon, and hit him hard with his cane.

"Are you all right, Neo Nanmimon?" Yuuchi shouted.

"Don't worry about me!" Neo Nanmimon shouted as he kicked Houdinimon in the stomach with his hind feet.

"You may have defeated me this time, kid, but next time, you won't be so lucky!" Houdinimon shouted before he vanished into thin air. Neo Nanmimon glowed and shrunk as he de-digivolved.

"Whoa! Are you okay, Nanmimon?" Yuuchi asked as he helped his Digimon stand up.

"I'm fine, Yuuchi," Nanmimon assured him. "Just a little tired."

The two partners gasped as the tent surrounding them suddenly disintegrated. The thin gray haze was gone as well.

"What happened?" Yuuchi asked uncertainly.

"Since we defeated Houdinimon, he no longer has control over the carnival," Nanmimon explained. "All of his illusions disappeared along with him."

"Yuuchi! Nanmimon!" they heard Kari shout. With the tent gone, they easily found Kari and T.K. As they ran to them, Yuuchi noticed that Gatomon and Patamon were back to normal.

"Are you guys all right?" Yuuchi asked out of concern.

"Uh-huh," T.K. replied.

"What happened to Houdinimon?" Kari asked curiously.

"Don't worry about him, Kari," Nanmimon told her. "He's gone...for now."

"Come on, guys. We better go find the others," Yuuchi announced.

As they walked down the path, Gatomon looked up at the Ferris wheel, which was peering over the other buildings. She was so focused on the Ferris wheel that she stopped walking.

"What's wrong, Gatomon?" Kari asked curiously.

"Sora and Mimi went on the Ferris wheel, right?" Gatomon recalled.

"Yeah, so?" Yuuchi remarked.

"Do you think they're still up there?" Gatomon asked, pointing at the ride.

"Guess it wouldn't hurt to check," Yuuchi muttered out loud as they ran toward the Ferris wheel.

"Hey! Up here!" they heard Mimi shout. Yuuchi looked up and saw Mimi, Sora, Palmon, and Biyomon in the seat of top of the Ferris wheel, waving their arms at him.

"Hold on! We'll get you down!" Yuuchi yelled up to them as he made his way to the lever. He pushed it forward, and the Ferris wheel started up again.

As soon as the girls' seat was at the bottom, Yuuchi pulled it back, stopping the ride. He ran over to the Ferris wheel, where Sora and Mimi were lifting up the safety bar.

"So, let me get this straight. While we were fighting an evil Digimon, you two were just hanging out?" Yuuchi asked.

"It wasn't our fault," Sora explained. "Some Numemon pulled the switch on us."

"That wasn't a real Numemon, Sora," Nanmimon explained. "That was just an illusion created by Houdinimon."

"Umm, come again?" Mimi asked curiously.

"Long story," Yuuchi quickly stated. "Did you see anyone while you were up there?"

"We didn't see anyone," Biyomon told him, "but we did hear some yelling from over there." She pointed at an old tent, which was still standing, unlike the other tents.

"I'll check it out," Yuuchi muttered out loud as he ran to the tent, followed by Nanmimon. When they entered the tent, the twosome found Zack, Izzy, Joe, and their Digimon tangled in a huge net.

"Lemme guess…Houdinimon?" Yuuchi asked nonchalantly.

The entrapped boys and their Digimon nodded as Yuuchi and Nanmimon tried to untangle the net. Nanmimon bit through some of the net, creating a hole big enough for everyone to get out.

"Thanks a lot, guys!" Gomamon exclaimed as he got out of the net, following Joe.

"How did you find us, Yuuchi?" Zack asked as they walked out of the tent.

"Biyomon said that she heard some noises from in here," Yuuchi explained.

As they walked back to the Ferris wheel, T.K. was telling Sora and Mimi about what happened earlier. "Houdinimon almost got Yuuchi, but then Nanmimon digivolved into Neo Nanmimon! He was so awesome!"

"You really think so?" Yuuchi asked, his face becoming flustered.

"Uh-huh," T.K. replied, nodding his head.

"T.K.!" the kids heard Matt shout.

"Kari!" Tai yelled. T.K. and Kari smiled as their older brothers ran toward them, followed by Agumon, Gabumon, Marni, Snakemon, Marisa, and Chamelamon.

"Kari, you're awake!" Tai exclaimed out of relief.

"Of course," Kari replied.

"Then that must mean...Hey, Yuuchi!"

"What's up, Tai?" Yuuchi asked.

"I wanna thank you for helping Kari and T.K.," Tai explained as he extended his hand to Yuuchi.

"Gee, thanks, Tai," Yuuchi exclaimed as he shook Tai's hand. "But, I can't take all the credit. Nanmimon was the one who knew about the flower, and he was the one who scared off Houdinimon."

Nanmimon blushed from the comment. "Thanks, Yuuchi," he admitted.

"Now that that's over, let's get outta here," Tai ordered as he led everyone out of the carnival...

Houdinimon walked down a long dark corridor. As he approached Armaggedamon's throne, whispers were heard from either side of the corridor, coming from the other evil Digimon. Their glowing red eyes glowed brighter as Houdinimon stopped a few feet short of the throne.

"Please forgive me, Armaggedamon," Houdinimon begged as he bowed to Armaggedamon.

"You've failed to deliver the Digi-Destined to me, Houdinimon," Armaggedamon's deep voice retorted angrily. Houdinimon kept his head down, waiting nervously for Armaggedamon's orders for him to be destroyed for failure.

"Since you're a valuable and loyal servant, your life will be spared this time," Armaggedamon replied. Houdinimon slowly lifted his head.

"But, don't think your failure will go unpunished," Armaggedamon added as he snapped his fingers. Instantly, a pair of Bakemon appeared.

"Escort him to the dungeon," Armaggedamon ordered.

As the two Bakemon dragged Houdinimon down the corridor, the glowing red eyes of Armaggedamon looked back and forth at the other Digimon.

"The same goes for the rest of you," Armaggedamon's deep voice boomed. "Failure is not acceptable, and will not go unpunished. I want those Digi-Destined kids captured and brought straight to me. Understand?"

There were murmured approvals up and down the corridor...TO BE CONTINUED


	6. The Legend Lives On

FROM THE DEPTHS

**Part 6: The Legend Lives On**

"Didn't we pass here before?" Marni asked confusingly, looking around.

"How can you even tell, Marni? There's nothing but sand out here," Yuuchi pointed out. The Digi-Destined have left the Digi-Carnival over an hour ago and were continuing their trek through the desert. The twelve kids and their Digimon were crossing the top of a massive sand dune.

"We better find some shelter soon," Tai remarked as he looked toward the sun, which was very low in the horizon.

"What's wrong with staying out here?" Yuuchi asked. "At least we won't get cold at night."

"That's actually incorrect, Yuuchi," Izzy pointed out. "Although temperatures are relatively high during the day, at night, however, a desert's temperature can drastically drop down to freezing."

"Thanks for the lesson, Mr. Science," Marni muttered under her breath.

T.K. suddenly stopped walking, along with Patamon. "Hey, everyone! Lookit!" T.K. exclaimed.

The others turned around and gasped when they saw what T.K. was pointing at. It was a small, old-fashioned settlement in the distance. Several old wooden buildings decorated the sides of a dirt road running through the center of the town.

"Whoa! That's straight out of a Western!" Zack exclaimed.

"What's a Western, Zack?" Cheetamon asked curiously.

"It's a type of movie with Indians, cowboys, deserts, saloons..." Zack trailed off.

"This is perfect," Tai remarked. "We can spend the night there."

"But, how are we going to get down there?" Sora asked. Tai looked over the edge and realized that it was a pretty steep drop from the top of the sand dune to the town below.

"That's a long way down," Chamelamon commented as she looked down at the settlement. Suddenly, she slipped on the sand and slid down the hill of sand toward the town.

"Chamelamon!" Marisa shouted. To everyone's surprise, Marisa slid down the sand dune after her Digimon.

"Marisa!" Marni shouted. By the time the pigtailed girl reached the bottom of the sand dune, Chamelamon was already back on her feet.

"Are you okay?" Marisa asked with concern as she got up and approached her Digimon.

Before she replied; Chamelamon spat on the ground a few times. "Other than the sand that got in my mouth, I'm fine," the lizard Digimon remarked. Marisa giggled a bit.

"Hey, Marisa!" they heard Matt yell. The two looked back up at the top of the sand dune, where everyone else was still standing.

"You okay, sis?" Marni shouted.

"Yeah, we're fine!" Marisa shouted back.

Marni slowly looked up and down at the trail Marisa formed when she slid down the sand dune. A small smirk formed on her face as she sat down and swung her legs over the edge of the sand dune.

"Marni, what are you doing?" Yuuchi asked.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Marni retorted.

"It looks kind of dangerous," Joe muttered out loud.

"And I guess fighting evil Digimon isn't?" Marni asked sarcastically. Joe didn't say anything after that.

"And you all have to admit, this is a quicker way down. Come here, Snakemon," Marni called to her Digimon. Snakemon slithered over to Marni and crawled into her lap.

"Are you sure about this, Marni?" Izzy asked. "Perhaps you should wait until we find an alternate route."

"Whatever. See you all on the bottom," Marni retorted as she pushed off the edge of the sand dune and slid down, with Snakemon in her lap.

"She does have a point," Tai admitted. "Let's go for it!" Tai and Agumon prepared to slide down the sand dune, along with Sora, Biyomon, Matt, Gabumon, and the other kids...

"Stupid sand," Yuuchi muttered as he dusted himself off.

"Well, at least we got off that hill. Now, let's go check this place out," Tai suggested.

"Yes, oh fearless leader," Yuuchi mocked under his breath. As the twelve kids and their Digimon entered the town, a single tumbleweed flew across the street.

"What a neat place," T.K. exclaimed, looking around at the old settlement buildings. Suddenly, Gabumon stopped in his tracks.

"What's the matter, Gabumon?" Matt asked.

"Did you hear that?" Gabumon asked, looking up at Matt.

"Hear what?" Matt asked.

The twelve kids and their Digimon quickly stopped walking and quieted down. They could clearly hear old western-style piano music from one of the buildings.

"I think it's coming from there," Gatomon muttered out loud, pointing at a Western-style saloon with wooden swinging doors.

"Maybe it's someone who can help us," Zack suggested.

"Or maybe it's an evil Digimon," Joe added nervously.

"We won't know unless we find out," Marni retorted.

"She does have a good point, guys," Tai admitted. He and Marni stepped onto the rickety wooden porch and cautiously approached the swinging doors. Before they reached the doors, however, the piano music suddenly stopped.

"We can't stop now," Tai told Marni, who nodded in agreement. Together, they peeked over the top of the doors. Inside, there was an old bar setup with stools and tables with chairs.

"Doesn't look like anyone's in here," Marni whispered. Just then, the piano music started again and then stopped, startling both Tai and Marni.

"Okay, maybe there is someone in there!" Marni admitted a bit nervously as they backed away from the doors a bit.

"Well, we're not gonna find out who it is by standing here!" Tai shouted as he ran straight for the swinging doors.

"Hey, Tai! Wait for me!" Agumon shouted as he ran after him. When Agumon entered the saloon, Tai was just getting up from the dust-covered floor.

"Are you all right, Tai?" Agumon asked as his human friend stood up.

"I'm fine, Agumon," Tai muttered as he wiped the dust off of his clothes. The two quickly looked around the saloon, but couldn't find anyone.

"Looks like our mysterious piano player made a quick exit, huh?" Marni asked.

Tai and Agumon turned around and saw the other kids and their Digimon inside the saloon. Tai and Agumon both nodded their heads. Suddenly, the mysterious piano music started again.

T.K. turned around and exclaimed, "Hey, lookit!" The other kids turned around and let out sighs of relief.

"It's just one of those old player pianos," Zack muttered out loud.

Out of curiosity, Cheetamon hopped onto the bench in front of the antique piano. "How is it doing that?" he asked as he watched the keys go up and down by themselves.

"A ghost is playing it," Yuuchi joked mischievously.

"A g-ghost?" Nanmimon asked fearfully.

"The piano is programmed to play by itself," Marisa told the pony-like Digimon. "There's no ghost. Yuuchi's just pulling your leg."

"No, he's not. If he was, I would have felt it," Nanmimon remarked as he checked his legs.

"That's just a figure of speech, Nanmimon. It means I'm joking around," Yuuchi admitted, laughing a bit.

"So, what now?" Sora asked curiously, who was sitting at one of the tables with Mimi, Biyomon, and Palmon.

"It would be plausible to find a good place to spend the night," Izzy proposed.

"What's wrong with staying right here?" Tai asked.

"But, I don't want to sleep on the floor," Mimi complained. "Who knows the last time someone swept in here!"

"You know, before we came in here, I think I saw an old motel across the street," Marisa muttered thoughtfully. "Odds are there's no more beds, but there could be some old mattresses or blankets in there."

"That could be worth checking out, Tai," Matt added.

"If that means I don't have to sleep on the floor, I'm there," Mimi exclaimed as she stood up.

"I guess we could check it out," Tai admitted. "Let's go!"

The kids and their Digimon left the saloon, crossed the street, and entered the motel. The massive wooden door creaked loudly as Tai and Matt pushed it open. The group cautiously entered the dark, musty lobby.

"Umm...maybe we should head back," Joe suggested nervously.

"Come on, Joe. We just got here," Gomamon told him.

"Let's go upstairs and explore," Tai suggested as he and Agumon headed for the massive staircase in the center of the lobby. The stairs creaked a little bit as they started to go upstairs.

"Wait for us, Tai!" Sora shouted as she and the others followed Tai and Agumon to the second floor.

"Looks like we're in luck," Tai announced, looking inside one of the motel rooms. Sora looked inside as well and noticed that there was a sturdy old bed in the room, mattress and all. She approached the next door and opened it.

"There's a bed in this room, too," Sora added.

"I think all these rooms still have beds," she heard Yuuchi remark. Sora turned around and noticed that the other doors were opened, revealing more beds.

"Wow! We totally lucked out here!" Marni exclaimed as she and Marisa rejoined the others in the hallway.

"So, it's official, everyone. We're spending the night here," Tai announced.

"I call this room!" Marni shouted, running into one of the rooms and closing the door behind her.

"Umm...Marni?" Snakemon asked as he knocked on the door.

The door reopened and Marni stuck her head out. "Oops! Sorry, Snakemon," she apologized sheepishly as she let Snakemon in her room and closed the door again.

"Well...good night, everyone," Marisa announced as she headed into another room, followed by Chamelamon. Everyone exchanged good nights as they headed into separate motel rooms...

"Huh?" Marni muttered as she slowly opened her eyes. It was late at night and Marni was just woken up by a strange noise coming from the hallway. She sat up in her bed, with Snakemon still asleep at the foot of her bed, and focused on the door, which was still open by a crack. Suddenly, something white sped past the door.

"Snakemon, wake up!" Marni whispered as she nudged her Digimon.

"What isss it, Marni?" Snakemon muttered groggily as he stretched out his arms and yawned.

"I saw something go past the door, and it definitely wasn't any of the other kids or their Digimon," Marni explained as she got up from the bed.

After grabbing her digivice from the bed stand, Marni carefully approached the door with Snakemon at her side. She slowly opened the door and entered the hallway. Marni looked up and down the hall, but there was no one in sight.

"Are you sure that what you sssaw wasss really there, Marni?" Snakemon asked. "Maybe you were jussst dreaming."

Marni was about to say something when she and Snakemon both heard unfamiliar voices coming from the lobby. The two tiptoed to the staircase and peeked around the corner. Marni could see about a dozen ghosts in the lobby talking amongst themselves. One of them was a bit bigger than the others and was wearing a cowboy hat.

"What kind of Digimon are they?" Marni asked curiously.

"Thossse are Bakemon," Snakemon whispered. "They're a ghossst-type Digimon. By themssselvesss, Bakemon can be very weak, but asss a group, they can be very powerful."

Marni leaned in closer against the banister so she could hear what the Bakemon were saying. "Are you guys almost done collecting all of the digivices?" their leader asked.

"Almost, boss. We just have to find that girl with the Snakemon," a Bakemon admitted.

"Put the other digivices in here," the leader ordered, holding out an empty burlap bag. One by one, the Bakemon came up to the leader and tossed a digivice in the bag.

"This has gotta be Armaggedamon's greatest plan yet! The Digimon cannot digivolve without the digivices. They'll stand no chance against us in the morning," another Bakemon chuckled as he tossed the last digivice in the bag.

"Now, don't forget! We have to get all TWELVE of the digivices, or else Armaggedamon will be very angry with us," their leader reminded the Bakemon as he closed the bag. "Now split up and find that girl with the Snakemon," he ordered the other Bakemon.

Suddenly, the banister that Marni was leaning on began to move and broke, sending her and Snakemon falling into the middle of the group of Bakemon.

"Umm...Hi! How are you all doing tonight? I'm just gonna go back to bed now, okay?" Marni chuckled nervously as she and Snakemon slowly walked backwards toward the stairs.

"Hold it right there, girl. Get her!" the Bakemon's leader shouted.

"Uhh...Snakemon? Now would be a good time to digivolve!" Marni told him with slight panic in her voice as the Bakemon surrounded them.

"Right. Sssnakemon digivolve to..." Snakemon shouted. To his surprise, nothing happened.

"I don't get it. What went wrong?" Snakemon asked himself. He turned to his side and gasped. Two Bakemon were restraining Marni.

"Marni!" Snakemon shouted. Before he could get to her, another Bakemon grabbed him by the tail, causing Snakemon to hit the floor. The Bakemon's leader approached Marni and removed the digivice from her jeans.

"No! My digivice!" Marni cried out.

The leader chuckled sinisterly as he put her digivice in the bag with the others. "Tie her up," he instructed the Bakemon, "and throw the Snakemon in the closet with the others." The three Bakemon nodded in approval.

"You eight, come with me," the Bakemon leader ordered the remaining Bakemon. "You'll be guarding the other children and their Digimon," he whispered to them barely loud enough for Marni to overhear.

"I'll be back shortly," the leader told the three other Bakemon as he floated out of the motel door, followed by the eight Bakemon.

"You heard him!" one of the Bakemon restraining Marni yelled at the Bakemon holding Snakemon. "Take him upstairs and throw him in the closet!"

"Right," the Bakemon replied as he floated up to the broken space in the banister. Snakemon watched helplessly as one of the Bakemon restraining Marni pulled out a rope from behind his back and started to tie her up...

"Here we are!" one of the Bakemon announced. The two Bakemon had arrived at a pair of doors. They were carrying Marni, who was tied up pretty well. Her feet were tied together and her wrists were tied behind her back.

The other Bakemon pushed the doors open with his free hand. "Ready?" he asked the first Bakemon. They swung Marni in between them and tossed her into the huge, dark bedroom.

"Enjoy your stay!" the first Bakemon retorted sarcastically as he and the other Bakemon closed the doors.

Marni grumbled as she struggled into a sitting position on her knees. "Marni? Is that you?" she heard a familiar voice ask from the shadows.

Through the dim light from the window, Marni could make out three figures sitting next to the window.

"Hey, Tai," Marni muttered as she crawled toward the window on her knees. "Is that...Sora and Mimi with you?" she asked, squinting her eyes.

"We're here, too," Sora replied.

Marni stopped crawling and got back up in a sitting position. "Mind filling me in on what happened?" she asked.

"Well, we were all sleeping when those Bakemon burst into our rooms," Tai started.

"They took our digivices and tied us up," Sora continued.

"And they locked up all our Digimon!" Mimi finished.

"I kinda figured that happened," Marni muttered out loud. "What did they do with everyone else? From what I overheard, they're not in the motel with us anymore."

"Well, I saw some of those Bakemon take Matt, T.K., Kari, and Marisa in that saloon," Sora replied, looking out the window at the saloon across the street.

"What about Izzy, Joe, Zack, and Yuuchi?" Marni asked.

"The Bakemon took them into that small building down there," Sora replied, indicating a small wooden building further down the street.

"That looks like an old bank," Marni muttered thoughtfully. "What about our Digimon?"

"They're somewhere in the motel, but we don't know where," Tai admitted.

"I remember the Bakemon's leader saying something about locking them up in a closet," Marni told them.

"That's not helpful. There's probably hundreds of closets in this place," Tai muttered out loud.

"Well, don't blame me, Tai," Marni retorted.

"No one's blaming you, Marni," Sora told her. "We have to find a way outta here."

"Yeah. I don't like being tied up like this," Mimi replied.

Tai noticed that Marni was grunting and squirming around a bit. "What are you doing, Marni?" he asked.

"Hold on a minute," Marni muttered between clenched teeth as she kept squirming around. To the three kids' surprise, Marni had managed to slip her tied hands out from underneath her legs.

"How did you do that?" Sora asked.

"I'm...double-jointed," Marni quickly explained as she moved her wrists around. Once again, to the kids' surprise, the rope tied around Marni's wrists loosened enough for her to slip her hands out.

As Marni untied the rope around her ankles, Tai asked suspiciously, "And how did you pull that off?"

"Well, I guess the Bakemon got careless when they tied me up, okay?" Marni retorted. When she finished untying the rope, Marni stood up, approached Mimi, and started to work on her wrists...

Meanwhile, inside a different motel room, a large maple wardrobe was shaking a bit violently.

"Pleassse ssstop moving around ssso much!" Snakemon shouted from inside the wardrobe. The shaking stopped soon after.

"Sorry about that, Snakemon," Agumon apologized. "There's not a lot of room in here."

"I hope Mimi's all right," Palmon muttered out loud.

"Poor Sora! I hope she's okay," Biyomon added.

"We're not helping them out by ssstaying in thisss clossset," Snakemon retorted.

"Well, how are we going to get out, Snakemon?" Agumon asked. "The doors are locked."

"How about usssing your Pepper Breath to burn a hole through the doors, Agumon?" Snakemon suggested.

"No, wait!" Biyomon interrupted. "It's too dark in here! What if you miss the door?"

"Let'sss try ramming the door instead," Snakemon suggested. The four Digimon rammed the double doors together, but only got bumps on their heads.

"Oww!" Palmon cried, holding her head. Suddenly, Agumon, Biyomon, and Palmon heard a strange noise inside the wardrobe, like nails scratching against metal.

"What's that noise?" Agumon asked.

"It'sss jussst me, Agumon," Snakemon replied.

"What are you doing?" Biyomon asked curiously.

"I'm trying to pick the lock with my clawsss," Snakemon explained as he continued moving his claw inside the keyhole.

"Are you sure that's gonna work?" Agumon asked.

"Do you have any better ideasss?" Snakemon asked a bit rudely. The other Digimon kept quiet as Snakemon continued to pick the lock...

"Almost got it…" Marni muttered out loud. She had already finished untying Mimi and Sora, and was working on Tai's ropes. Marni finally untied the last knot of the rope that held his wrists together.

"There," Marni announced.

Tai started to untie the rope on his ankles. "About time, Marni. What took you so long?" he asked rudely.

"Well, I was thinking about leaving you here, but I figured we're gonna need your help," Marni admitted sarcastically.

By that time, Tai had finished untying his feet. "What are you saying?" he shouted angrily as he stood up.

"Knock it off, you two," Sora interrupted. "Do you want the Bakemon to hear us? We need to find our Digimon."

Tai and Marni nodded in approval. Marni carefully approached the double doors and slowly opened them a crack. After seeing no one, she opened the doors wide enough to stick her head out into the hall. Marni looked both ways, but there were no Bakemon in sight.

"Coast is clear," Marni whispered.

"Okay, let's go," Tai whispered as the four kids crept into the hallway.

"We'll split up," Tai suggested. "If any of you find the Digimon, let us know, okay?" The three girls all quickly nodded their heads in approval. The foursome spilt up and started to look inside the other rooms...

"Are you done yet?" Agumon asked. Snakemon was still at work picking the lock of the wardrobe.

"Almossst got it," Snakemon muttered. Suddenly, a click was heard from the lock.

"Help me push," Snakemon requested.

Agumon, Biyomon, and Palmon all placed their hands on the door and pushed as hard as they could, along with Snakemon. Suddenly, the double doors flew open, spilling out the four Digimon on the floor in a small pile.

"Way to go, Snakemon!" Palmon exclaimed. She was on top of Biyomon, who was on top of Agumon, who was on top of Snakemon.

"Yeah, Snakemon. You da Mon!" Agumon admitted.

"Thanksss, everyone. Now, could you pleassse get off me!" Snakemon shouted.

"Sorry," Palmon, Biyomon, and Agumon apologized simultaneously as they quickly got off the snake-like Digimon.

"Thanksss," Snakemon muttered.

"Snakemon!" The Digimon turned around and saw Marni peering through the door. She stuck her head back into the hallway and whispered a bit loudly, "They're in here, guys."

Marni slowly opened the door and entered the room. "What happened to you?" she asked Snakemon, who was getting back up.

"I unexxxpectedly got sssmothered," Snakemon muttered, looking at the other Digimon accusingly, who chuckled nervously.

"Agumon!"

"Biyomon!"

"Palmon!"

The three Digimon turned around and saw Tai, Sora, and Mimi standing in the doorway.

"Are you guys okay?" Sora asked.

"Oh, yeah. We're fine now," Biyomon admitted.

"How did you get out of there?" Tai asked, looking at the open wardrobe.

"Snakemon got the door open," Agumon admitted.

"Good job, Snakemon," Marni congratulated her Digimon.

Snakemon smiled a little bit out of pride. "It wasss no big deal," he confessed...

"I'll raise you two cookies," a Bakemon announced, tossing a couple of chocolate chip cookies on the pile of candy and junk food on the table.

The other Bakemon glanced at his playing cards for a moment. "I'll see your two cookies, and raise you three lollipops," he announced, pushing his wager toward the pile. Unknown to the Bakemon, they were being watched.

"This should be easy," Tai whispered back to Sora, Marni, Mimi, and the Digimon.

Just then, the third Bakemon drifted inside from his post near the motel entrance. "Better put that away! Boss Bakemon is coming!" he warned the two gambling Bakemon. They quickly pushed the table with the candy and cards away, and returned just as their leader entered the motel. He was still carrying the bag of digivices.

"H-hey, boss!" H-how ya doing?" one of the Bakemon stuttered nervously.

"What are you three floating around here for?" the Bakemon's leader asked angrily. "Spread out and guard the place!"

After muttering apologies, two of the Bakemon headed upstairs, and the third Bakemon headed for the hallway. Their leader pulled up a chair, sat down, and let out a huge sigh. He dropped the bag of digivices next to his chair and closed his eyes.

"We need to distract that Bakemon. That way, we can get our digivices back," Tai whispered.

"I'll do it," Marni volunteered.

"And I'll go with you," Snakemon added.

"No, you can't come with me, Snakemon. If that Bakemon sees you, he'll know that the other Digimon escaped," Marni explained.

"Okay, good luck," Tai whispered.

Marni nodded as she carefully got up from their hiding place: a large sofa covered with a sheet. Tai, Sora, and Mimi peeked over the top of the sofa and watched as Marni quietly snuck up on the Bakemon, who was obviously taking a nap.

"What is she gonna do?" Sora whispered.

"I have no idea," Tai whispered back.

"I think I do, and it'sss not a good one," Snakemon muttered to himself.

"HEY!" Marni yelled loudly, waking up the Bakemon.

The Bakemon's leader was startled and fell out of his chair. "How did you get out?" he asked angrily, hovering over Marni.

"You really want to know?" Marni asked. She paused for a moment. "You're gonna have to catch me first!" she yelled as she dashed out of the motel into the street.

The Bakemon quickly looked around, but the three other Bakemon were nowhere in sight. "I'll have to take care of this myself," he muttered as he went after Marni.

In his haste, the Bakemon's leader left the bag full of digivices next to the chair. After the Bakemon left the motel, Tai snuck into the lobby and grabbed the bag.

"Way to go, Tai," Sora whispered with a smile as Tai returned to the sofa. He quickly untied the bag and grabbed a digivice from the bag, along with Sora and Mimi.

"Let's get outta here," Tai whispered as they left their hiding spot and headed for the door.

"Hold it!" the three kids and the four Digimon heard a voice shout from above them. They looked up and gasped. Floating above the entrance were the three Bakemon from earlier.

"Where do you think you're going?" one of the Bakemon asked suspiciously.

"If you wanna leave here..." the second Bakemon remarked.

"You'll have to get through us first," the third Bakemon finished.

"Oh, yeah? Let's see you try and stop us!" Tai shouted. "Now, guys!"

"Pepper Breath!" Agumon shouted.

"Spiral Twister!" Biyomon shouted.

"Poissson Sssting!" Snakemon shouted. The three attacks struck the three Bakemon, knocking them all down to the ground.

"Poison Ivy!" Palmon shouted. She wrapped her vines around the three Bakemon, picked them up, and spun them around. The three Bakemon screamed as Palmon flung them high in the air. They flew over the broken banister and crashed on the second floor.

"Might I sssuggessst we get out of here, right now?" Snakemon suggested. "Marni'sss out there by herssself, with that Bakemon."

"Snakemon's right. Marni's gonna need our help," Sora muttered out loud.

"What's the big deal, Sora? It's just a Bakemon," Tai asked as they headed toward the entrance. "There's no way one Bakemon can beat four Rookies!"

"You obviously don't know what Bakemon are capable of," Sora retorted...

"Whoa!" Marni shouted. She barely managed to dive out of the way of Bakemon's outstretched arm. He ended up knocking over an antique wooden barrel.

"Is that your best shot?" Marni asked sarcastically as she got up.

The Bakemon leader was breathing heavily and had a frustrated look on her face. "You have no idea who you're dealing with!" he shouted.

Suddenly like a chain reaction, eight of the remaining Bakemon flew out of the bank and saloon. Tai, Mimi, and Sora gasped as the three Bakemon they ran into earlier flew over their heads and headed toward their boss.

"Marni, get out of the way!" Sora shouted.

"What are they doing, Sora?" Mimi asked.

"They're combining to form Lord Bakemon," Sora explained.

"And how do you know that?" Tai asked.

"Because I fought Lord Bakemon before, with Joe," she replied. As she spoke, Sora's mind went back to that day when File Island broke up and she, Joe, Biyomon, and Gomamon crashed the Bakemon festival. "It was after File Island broke up, thanks to Devimon. Joe and I interrupted this festival for the Bakemon, and they tried to eat us! Good thing Birdramon and Ikkakumon were able to beat Lord Bakemon!"

"Still no big deal!" Tai retorted.

"Not really, Tai," Biyomon replied. "Lord Bakemon was still too powerful for me as Birdramon and Ikkakumon to beat. We had to drain his powers first before we could defeat him."

The three kids and the four Digimon looked up and gasped. The twelve Bakemon were flying around like a tornado. They molded together to form one giant Bakemon.

"That's him! Lord Bakemon!" Sora exclaimed.

"Uhh...guys? What should I do?" Marni shouted nervously as Lord Bakemon headed toward her. To her surprise, Snakemon jumped in between her and Lord Bakemon.

"Poissson Sssting!" he shouted. Unfortunately, Snakemon's attack barely fazed Lord Bakemon.

"No offense, Snakemon, but we don't stand a chance!" Marni gasped.

Tai quickly reached into the bag and pulled out a digivice. "Unless we even the odds. Marni, catch!" he shouted as he threw the digivice as high as he could.

The device flew right over Lord Bakemon's head and landed in Marni's outstretched hand. "Go for it, Snakemon!" she exclaimed.

"Sssnakemon digivolve to...Cobramon!" Cobramon tackled the oversized Bakemon to the ground, but was pushed away like a rag doll.

"Cobramon doesn't stand a chance against Lord Bakemon by himself!" Biyomon exclaimed.

"We gotta help him!" Palmon exclaimed. Just then, Tai, Sora, and Mimi's digivices were activated.

"Agumon digivolve to...Greymon!"

"Biyomon digivolve to...Birdramon!"

"Palmon digivolve to...Togemon!"

"Whoa!" Marni gasped, staring at the three new Champion Digimon in astonishment.

"Come on, Marni!" Tai shouted. Marni soon snapped out of it and rejoined Tai, Sora, and Mimi in front of the motel.

"Nova Blast!" Greymon shouted, spitting out a massive fireball.

"Meteor Wing!" Birdramon shouted as she sent several fireballs flying down toward Lord Bakemon.

"Needle Spray!" Togemon shouted, releasing her needles. The three combined attacks nailed Lord Bakemon head-on, but he came out of it unscathed.

"We're gonna need some help," Sora reluctantly admitted.

"Marni, I want you to take this and find the others," Tai explained as he handed Marni the bag containing the remaining digivices.

"But, what about you guys?" Marni asked.

"We'll hold him off until you get back. Just be quick about it," Tai assured her.

"Okay," Marni agreed a bit hesitantly.

"I'll come with you, Marni," Cobramon announced.

"Now get going, and hurry!" Tai shouted. Marni nodded and ran across the street to the saloon, followed by Cobramon.

"Uhh...you better wait out here, Cobramon," Marni told her Digimon. "You're just a little too big to come inside." Cobramon nodded as though he understood.

As Marni burst through the swinging doors, she heard her sister exclaim, "Marni!" She turned her head and saw Marisa, Kari, T.K., and Matt tied up to chairs around one of the tables.

As Marni ran behind Marisa's chair and started to work on her ropes, Matt asked, "How did you get out, Marni?"

"Save the questions for later, Matt," Marni retorted. "We have bigger problems, and I do mean BIGGER problems!"

"What are you talking about, Marni?" Marisa asked curiously as she looked up at her sister.

"Well, umm...remember those Bakemon?" Marni asked.

"Yeah. What about them?" Marisa asked.

"Well, they kinda, like, merged together or something," Marni explained as she untied the last knot. As Marisa got up from the chair and headed over to where T.K. was tied up, Marni went to the other side of the table to untie Kari.

"So, what exactly are you saying, Marni?" Matt asked.

"Like I said before, those Bakemon merged together into this huge Bakemon," Marni replied as she worked on Kari's ropes. "Sora called him Lord Bakemon or something. I think she probably fought him before."

By the time Marni finished explaining everything, she had just untied the last knot on Kari's rope. As she helped Kari get up, Marni noticed that Marisa had just finished untying T.K.

"Any idea where your Digimon are?" Marni asked them as she worked on Matt's ropes. As a response, T.K. and Kari moaned sadly.

"We have no idea," Marisa admitted.

"I think the Bakemon took them further downtown, but there's so many buildings they could be in," Matt told Marni.

"Well...maybe Izzy, Joe, Zack, and Yuuchi know where they are," Marni suggested as she finished untying Matt.

"Yeah, maybe, but we don't even know where they are," Matt remarked as he stood up.

"Well, I do, so follow me," Marni replied as she headed out the door, followed by Matt, Marisa, T.K., and Kari. The five kids, followed by Cobramon, ran down the dirt road to the other end of town.

"They're in here," Marni announced, pointing at the old Western-style bank.

"Are you sure?" Marisa asked.

"Hey, I knew where you guys were, so..." Marni started to explain.

Before she could finish, Marni was interrupted by a familiar voice shouting, "Somebody get us out of here!"

"That sounded like Zack," Kari muttered thoughtfully. The five kids entered the bank and found Zack, Yuuchi, Izzy, and Joe tied up and lying on the floor.

"You guys okay?" Marisa asked.

"Just fine," Zack muttered as Marisa started to untie him.

"Any idea what happened to your Digimon?" Marni asked Izzy as she was untying him.

"Those Bakemon put them all in there," Izzy told her as he gestured towards an old bank vault with a heavy metal door.

"Is Gabumon in there, too?" Matt asked as he untied Joe.

"And Patamon?" T.K. asked.

"Gatomon, too?" Kari asked.

"Yeah, they're all in there," Zack replied as he stood up and rubbed his wrists.

After she finished untying Izzy, Marni approached the vault door, grabbed the handle with both hands, and pulled as hard as she could. "I need some help here," she told the other kids.

"Let me take care of it, Marni," Cobramon announced as he slithered into the bank.

"Be my guest," Marni insisted as she stepped away from the vault door.

Cobramon grabbed the handle with both hands and pulled. The heavy metal door groaned loudly as the Champion Digimon slowly opened it. Inside were all eight Digimon: Gabumon, Patamon, Gatomon, Tentomon, Gomamon, Cheetamon, Nanmimon, and Chamelamon.

"Good to see you're all okay," Marni remarked as the Digimon left the vault and rejoined their human friends.

"Hey, Marni! Aren't you forgetting something?" Yuuchi asked sarcastically.

Marni turned around and realized that Yuuchi was still tied up. "Oops! Sorry," she admitted sheepishly.

"Don't worry about it, Marni," Nanmimon told her. He walked behind Yuuchi and gnawed through the ropes holding his hands together.

After Yuuchi untied his feet and joined the other kids and their Digimon, Marni picked up the sack from the floor and opened it. "Okay, everyone! Grab a digivice, cuz you're gonna need it!" she announced.

"Why do we need to make our Digimon digivolve?" Zack asked curiously as he grabbed a digivice from the bag. "It's just a bunch of Bakemon."

"Not anymore!" Marni retorted. "They combined together into Lord Bakemon!"

"Not him again!" Joe whimpered.

"No offense, Joe, but get over it! Look, Tai, Sora, and Mimi are out there. Their Digimon are fighting Lord Bakemon right now, and they need our help," Marni explained. Everyone nodded in approval as they all left the bank.

"Ready to digivolve?" Matt asked.

"Uh-huh!" the Digimon agreed simultaneously.

"Chamelamon digivolve to...Dragomon!"

"Tentomon digivolve to...Kabuterimon!"

"Gabumon digivolve to...Garurumon!"

"Nanmimon digivolve to...Neo Nanmimon!"

"Gomamon digivolve to...Ikkakumon!" "Patamon digivolve to...Angemon!"

"Cheetamon digivolve to...Panthramon!"

"Come on, guys! Hurry!" Marni shouted as she and Cobramon led the way.

As the nine kids and their Champion Digimon ran down the street, they could see the battle still going on in front of the motel. Greymon and Birdramon were down on the ground, with Tai and Sora by their sides, and Togemon was fist fighting with Lord Bakemon. She nailed the ghost Digimon in the face with a left hook, knocking him to the ground. He rubbed his sore cheek for a moment, and then he got up and punched Togemon in the stomach.

"Togemon!" Mimi cried as her Digimon fell to the ground.

"Hey, Casper!" Marni yelled.

Lord Bakemon turned around and gasped when he saw Matt, T.K., Marisa, Kari, Izzy, Zack, Joe, and Yuuchi with her, and all of their Digimon, in their Champion stages, standing behind them.

"Hey, look! It's Marni and the others!" Sora exclaimed.

"About time you guys showed up!" Tai retorted.

"This town ain't big enough for all of us, Lord Bakemon," Marni retorted in a fake Western drawl.

"Lightning Paw!" Gatomon shouted.

"Harpoon Torpedo!" Ikkakumon shouted.

"Howling Blaster!" Garurumon shouted. The three attacks hit Lord Bakemon, but it didn't faze him.

"Let's attack him together. Maybe that will destroy him," Dragomon growled as she flew overhead of the other Digimon.

"Good idea. Let's do it!" Neo Nanmimon agreed.

"Inferno Blast!" Dragomon shouted.

"Howling Blaster!" Garurumon shouted.

"Razor Claw!" Panthramon shouted.

"Meteor Wing!" Birdramon shouted.

"Psychic Blast!" Neo Nanmimon shouted.

"Electro Shocker!" Kabuterimon shouted.

"Needle Spray!" Togemon shouted.

"Nova Blast!" Greymon shouted.

"Harpoon Torpedo!" Ikkakumon shouted.

"Cobra Fang!" Cobramon shouted.

"Hand of Fate!" Angemon shouted.

"Lightning Paw!" Gatomon shouted.

All of the attacks hit their mark, and the kids waited nervously to see what was going to happen to Lord Bakemon. The huge ghost Digimon started to laugh sinisterly. "Is that the best you can do, Digi-Destined?" he asked mockingly. Lord Bakemon continued his sinister laugh until he started to shake.

"Wha...What's going on?" Lord Bakemon asked panicky to no one in particular. He let out a painful cry as he exploded into little pieces, which soon disintegrated. A walkie-talkie fell to the ground, but disintegrated as well.

"We won?" Zack asked unsurely.

"Duh!" Marni retorted.

"How come Gatomon didn't digivolve?" Yuuchi asked curiously.

"Gatomon is already in her Champion stage," Kari told him.

"Then, does that mean Angewomon is Ultimate?" Yuuchi asked. Kari nodded her head in agreement. Just then, all of the Digimon, except for Gatomon, began to glow and they returned to their Rookie stage.

"You guys did great!" Tai shouted with a huge grin.

"Thanks, Tai!" Agumon exclaimed.

"Well, I guess we should get going. I mean, we do have a long way to go, don't we?" Zack asked.

"Zack's right, guys. We should keep moving," Izzy suggested.

Tai nodded in approval as they walked down the street to the other end of town. He looked over at Marni, who was walking next to Sora and Marisa. "Are you gonna tell me how you did it, or what?" Tai retorted impatiently.

"What's he talking about, Marni?" Marisa asked.

"Remember that rope escape trick that Clu taught me?" Marni reminded her sister.

"Oh, yeah," Marisa replied. "I can't believe you still remember how to do that trick. It was over five years ago."

"Who's Clu?" Sora asked curiously.

"He's our older brother," Marisa explained.

"Clu's like the coolest older brother that exists," Marni boasted. "He's always into the latest thing. Like, five years ago, Clu was totally into magic tricks and stuff like that. That's when he taught me that rope escape trick. I never forget anything Clu taught me."

"It's a good thing you didn't forget," Marisa admitted.

"So, what does your brother, Clu, do now?" Yuuchi asked curiously.

"Clu's in his own rock band," Marni admitted proudly. "He even taught me how to play the bass guitar and the drums!"

"That's pretty cool, Marni," Yuuchi admitted. Suddenly, he noticed that the other kids have stopped walking. Yuuchi looked up and groaned. Right in front of them was the continuing stretch of desert.

"Just great. More desert," Zack muttered under his breath.

"Come on, you guys. We have to keep going," Tai exclaimed. "We got to stop Armaggedamon."

"Tai's correct," Izzy added. "Don't forget that the Digiworld and our world are connected. If Armaggedamon does succeed in taking over the Digiworld, then out world will be in danger as well." The four new kids were quietly thinking over what Izzy told them.

"I guess Izzy's right," Marni admitted. "We need to save the Digiworld."

"Yeah. We're the only ones who can do it," Marisa added.

"And with our tags and crests, our Digimon can digivolve to Ultimate, right?" Yuuchi asked. The eight original Digi-Destined nodded in approval.

"Well, Zack? Are you with us?" Cheetamon asked his human friend.

Zack nodded in approval. "Everyone's right about this. We can't turn around now. Like Tai said, we have to keep going."

"Right! Now, let's go!" Tai admitted as he led the other kids and their Digimon back into the desert...

Unknown to the Digi-Destined, a dark sinister figure considered the battle that just occurred before him on a large television screen.

"It seems that I have underestimated the children. Well, it's not going to happen again! Do you hear me?" a familiar voice shouted. There were several mumbles of agreement.

"We need to treat these Digi-Destined more seriously. I will not tolerate defeat anymore!" Armaggedamon shouted angrily as he slammed his fist on the handle of his chair. "Do you understand?" There were more mutters of approval.

"I'll make those kids wish they never heard of Armaggedamon," he muttered sinisterly...TO BE CONTINUED


	7. Friend or Foe?

FROM THE DEPTHS

**Part 7: Friend or Foe?**

"Where is he?" Armaggedamon asked angrily.

There were several garbled replies throughout the dark corridors. Suddenly, the muffled replies turned to gasps and whispers as a mysterious figure surrounded by shadows walked down the corridor, heading toward Armaggedamon's throne. When the figure stepped into the patch of pale light in front of the throne, even Armaggedamon gasped. He and the other Digimon recognized the figure as the leader of the Digi-Destined children: Tai!

Armaggedamon started to chuckle sinisterly. "Do you really think you stand a chance against me by yourself, boy?" he asked sarcastically.

To Armaggedamon's surprise, Tai looked up at him with a sinister smirk on his face. Instantly, Tai changed into a figure wearing a charcoal gray jumpsuit, dark brown boots, and a deep burgundy cloak with a hood. A matching burgundy scarf covered most of his face. Only his pale blue could be seen from underneath his hood.

"Cloakmon, what an unexpected surprise," Armaggedamon admitted as the Digimon bowed respectively to him. "Your powers have improved greatly. Last I heard, you were only able to copy other Digimon." Armaggedamon paused for a moment. "This new power of yours will be very useful, indeed."

"How may I assist you, Armaggedamon?" Cloakmon asked curiously.

Armaggedamon's glowing red eyes focused on the large television screen next to him. The screen turned on, showing an image of the Digi-Destined kids and their Digimon walking through a dense forest.

"I want you to lure these children into a trap," Armaggedamon explained. "My original plan was to have you impersonate one of their Digimon friends, but perhaps you can disguise yourself as one of those Digi-Destined kids instead. They may be suspicious of a Digimon, but they wouldn't suspect one of their own leading them into a trap."

"I could do that," Cloakmon admitted, "but I would need to do a Mind Merge on the child I choose to impersonate so the others won't catch on."

"Very well, then. Now, go!" Armaggedamon commanded. Cloakmon bowed once again before he turned around and headed back the dark corridor.

As the Digimon continued down the corridor, Houdinimon emerged from the surrounding shadows and approached the throne. "Why did you send Cloakmon after the Digi-Destined, Armaggedamon?" he asked. "Why didn't you send me instead?"

"Although you are a master of illusion, Houdinimon, Cloakmon has the ability to disguise himself into any Digimon, and now, any human as well," Armaggedamon reminded him.

"That may be true, Armaggedamon, but Cloakmon's a lone Digimon who doesn't answer to anyone," Houdinimon pointed out. "He may desert you."

"Cloakmon wouldn't dare do that," Armaggedamon muttered. "He's aware that if he betrays me, I would hunt him down and destroy him myself. You may leave now."

Houdinimon was about to head into the dark shadows when Armaggedamon added, "There is one more thing, Houdinimon." The Digimon turned around and faced the throne, waiting to hear what he had to say.

Armaggedamon's eyes glowed bright like fire as he yelled angrily, "Question my orders again, and it's back to the dungeon for you!"

"O-of course, Armaggedamon. N-never again," Houdinimon stuttered fearfully before he stepped back into the shadows...

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm totally wiped out," Marni yawned loudly as she stretched out her arms.

"You're not the only one, Marni," Marisa told her as she pointed at a nearby tree.

Mimi, T.K., Palmon, and Patamon were leaning against the tree, nodding off every now and then. It was almost dark out in the Digiworld, and the Digi-Destined and their Digimon had stopped for a rest in a small clearing. Only Tai, Matt, Sora, Yuuchi, and their Digimon were missing.

Suddenly, the kids that were still awake heard some rustling from some nearby bushes. It turned out to be just Matt, Sora, Gabumon, and Biyomon. All four of them were carrying a pile of sticks in their arms.

As they laid the sticks on the ground in a pile, T.K. slowly opened his eyes. "Matt?" he whispered as he rubbed his eyes.

"Hey, T.K.," Matt greeted as he approached his little brother. "You feeling okay?"

"I'm fine, Matt. Just a little tired," T.K. admitted after letting out a long yawn.

"Ready, Gabumon?" Matt heard Sora ask. He turned around and noticed that Sora had already arranged some of the sticks for the fire. Gabumon nodded and released a blue blast, which lit the small pile of sticks into a roaring campfire.

Just then, a familiar voice shouted, "Hey, guys! We're back!" Sora looked up from the campfire and watched as Tai, Yuuchi, Agumon, and Nanmimon entered the campsite. Tai, Yuuchi, and Agumon were each carrying an armful of fruit. Nanmimon was carrying a partially eaten plum in his mouth.

"Go ahead, everyone. Dig in," Yuuchi announced as they piled the fruit on a large leaf next to the campfire.

"Looks like Nanmimon already did," Chamelamon pointed out with a laugh.

Nanmimon quickly swallowed the rest of the plum and retorted, "Well, I can't carry any fruit with no arms."

"So, what are the plans for tomorrow?" Zack asked as he grabbed a banana from the pile of fruit and sat next to the fire.

"We have to figure out where Armaggedamon's hiding," Tai revealed as he and the other kids sat around to the campfire, along with their Digimon.

"It seems plausible that Armaggedamon's headquarters is located here on Server," Izzy theorized.

"What makes you think that, Izzy?" Marni asked curiously before taking a bite out of an apple.

"Thank about it, Marni," Izzy told her. "When we were still on File Island, we were attacked by only two Champion Digimon, whereas when we arrived here on Server, we've been attacked by one Champion and two Ultimate Digimon. Since Armaggedamon is putting serious effort into keeping us away from here, it seems plausible that his base is located somewhere on the continent of Server."

"You could be right, Izzy," Marisa admitted.

"Hold on a second!" Yuuchi interrupted. "You guys said before that Armaggedamon would be the toughest Digimon you would ever face, right?"

"Yeah, so?" Tai asked.

"Well, I seriously doubt that defeated all those other Digimon with only eight Champion Digimon," Yuuchi retorted.

"That's true," Sora admitted. "When we fought Apocalymon, we had only two Mega Digimon and six Ultimate Digimon, and he was the toughest Digimon we faced so far."

"So, if we're ever going to defeat Armaggedamon, we'll have to get our Digimon to digivolve to at least Ultimate, right?" Zack asked. Tai, Matt, Sora, Joe, and Izzy all nodded their heads in approval.

"And the key to getting our Digimon to digivolve once again is to activate our crests?" Marisa asked as she took out her tag and examined the forest green crest.

"That is correct," Izzy confirmed.

"So, do you guys know anything at all about our crests?" Marni asked as she allowed her tag to hang freely from her neck. "If you do, now would be a good time to tell us."

"Well, all of our individual crests are based on our strongest trait. You know, what makes you unique," Izzy explained.

"So, do you know what our crests mean?" Yuuchi prodded.

"Sorry, but we don't know what your crests mean," Joe apologized. "If we did, we would tell you."

"Can you at least tell us what your crests stand for?" Zack asked curiously. "That might help us figure out what our own crests mean."

"I have the crest of Courage," Tai boasted proudly.

"My crest is Friendship," Matt revealed.

"Mine's Love," Sora admitted.

"I have the crest of Knowledge," Izzy added.

"And mine's the crest of Reliability," Joe finished.

"What about T.K., Kari, and Mimi?" Marni asked as she looked at the three sleeping kids and their sleeping Digimon.

"T.K. has the crest of Hope," Matt explained.

"My sister, Kari, has the crest of Light," Tai admitted.

"And Mimi has the crest of Sincerity," Sora finished.

"Well, that actually makes sense," Marni admitted. She looked over at Marisa, who was staring vacantly into the campfire.

"Marisa, what's wrong with you?" Marni retorted.

"Nothing, Marni. I was just thinking about something," Marisa whispered.

"Care to share with us?" Yuuchi asked a bit sarcastically.

"It's just that...are we the only ones who can use these digivices?" Marisa asked curiously.

"Of course, we're the only ones. Why would you ask something like that?" Tai asked.

"I was just scared that maybe someone could use our digivices against us," Marisa admitted.

"Don't worry about it, Marisa," Matt assured her.

"A good friend of ours once told us that the digivices would be powerless in the hands of anyone else," Sora announced.

"Then I guess I was just worried over nothing," Marisa admitted. Just then, Yuuchi let out a long yawn, immediately followed by Nanmimon.

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm ready for bed," Yuuchi muttered groggily as he stretched out his arms.

"Me, too," Nanmimon agreed a bit drowsily.

"Wait a minute. Someone needs to stay up and stand guard," Izzy revealed. "We can each take turns. Who's going to go first?"

"I'll do it," Tai volunteered.

"I'll go next," Yuuchi announced.

"I'll go after Yuuchi," Matt added.

"And I'll finish up the night," Marni volunteered. "I'm a light sleeper, so I won't mind."

"So, everything's settled, then. Good night," Joe announced before he lied down and went to sleep. Everyone else did the same, except for Tai, who stayed up and tended to the campfire...

"Matt! Hey, Matt! Wake up!" Yuuchi whispered loudly as he shook Matt's shoulder in an attempt to wake him up. His green eyes quickly looked around the campsite and spotted a hollow melon rind. Yuuchi had filled up the rind with water earlier since he was thirsty. A devilish grin appeared on his face as he approached the melon rind and scooped up some of the cold water.

"This ought to wake him up," Yuuchi snickered to himself as he came up to Matt and dumped the water on his face. Matt quickly woke up with a start.

"About time you woke up," Yuuchi retorted with a smile as Matt shook the excess water out of his hair.

"What did you do that for?" Matt asked angrily.

"Well, first of all, you snore louder than a chainsaw," Yuuchi pointed out with a smirk. "And another thing, it's your turn to stand guard."

Matt eyed him suspiciously as he slowly stood up. "Go to sleep," he told Yuuchi. "You're gonna need it for tomorrow."

Yuuchi nodded as he walked to an empty space, laid down, and went to sleep. Matt sat down in front of the fire and poked at the remaining embers with a stick. His blue eyes glanced around the campsite, finally resting on Marisa, who was lying next to Marni.

_Why can't I remember?_ Matt thought to himself. _I know I've seen Marisa somewhere before, but I don't remember!_

Matt groaned out of frustration and threw his stick into the burning embers, causing a few sparks to fly up. That's when he realized that the fire was dying down. He looked over to where he and Sora piled up the wood they gathered earlier, but there were only a couple of sticks left.

"Looks like I have to get more wood," Matt muttered to himself as he got up. He threw the remaining sticks into the low-burning embers before he headed into the forest. It didn't take him more than five minutes to find what he needed.

With his arms full of sticks, Matt started to head back to the campsite. He didn't take more than three steps when a large black marble dropped from the sky and landed at his feet. Once it hit the ground, the marble released a steady stream of thin bluish-gray smoke. Matt tried to get away from the smoke gathering around him, but it was too late. He felt his eyelids drooping and his body going limp. Matt fell face-first on the ground, fast asleep, causing all the sticks he collected to scatter around him...

Matt slowly opened his eyes halfway, since his eyelids felt as though they weighed a ton. "Man, what happened?" he muttered drowsily to himself.

Matt tried to move, but discovered that he couldn't. He looked up and noticed to his surprise that his hands were shackled to a stone wall. Matt looked down and realized that his feet were also shackled to the stone wall. He tried to move once again, but the shackles prevented him from moving around a lot. By looking around, Matt realized that he was in a cave. The entrance was only a few yards away from him, with the dawn's pale light shining through.

"Don't even bother," Matt heard a sinister voice reply from somewhere within the cave. "You can't escape without your friends!"

Matt looked toward the direction the voice was coming from. He saw a Digimon approach him that reminded him of Wizardmon, only he was wearing a burgundy cloak and hood, with a matching scarf covering his face.

"Who are you?" Matt asked curiously.

"The name is Cloakmon," the Digimon replied as he briefly glanced at the cave's entrance for a few moments.

"Your friends won't be awake for a couple more hours," Cloakmon muttered out loud. "Once they realize you're missing, they'll be out looking for you."

"My friends will find me, and then you're gonna pay for this!" Matt shouted.

Cloakmon stared at Matt with an evil glare. "Don't be so sure that they'll even come looking for you," he muttered out loud.

"What do you mean by that?" Matt asked.

"You'll soon find out for yourself," Cloakmon told Matt as he closed his eyes.

"Mind Merge!" Cloakmon whispered. He slowly opened his eyes, which were now glowing pale blue, and focused them on his prisoner.

Matt tried to close his eyes, but he couldn't move them at all. It was as though his eyes were frozen open. Cloakmon felt the sudden rush of Matt's memories entering his mind. They were in the form of several bubbles, each one containing a different memory. Some of the memories that stood out the most to Cloakmon were Matt's parents splitting up, going to summer camp with T.K. and his friends, going to the Digiworld for the first time, meeting Tsunomon for the first time, watching his Digimon digivolve for the first time, fights with Tai, the encounter with Cherrymon, the battles with Piedmon and Apocalymon, going back to the Digiworld with the four new Digi-Destined, and the encounter Matt and Marisa had with Minotaurmon.

Cloakmon's eyes returned to normal as he turned away from Matt, who was a bit exhausted from the process. The young boy felt as though he had been drained of something as he let his head fall to his chest. He quickly looked up when Cloakmon started to laugh sinisterly, who had his back towards the blonde-haired, blue-eyed boy.

"What's so funny, Cloakmon?" Matt shouted angrily.

Cloakmon turned around and slowly removed the hood and scarf covering his head and face. Matt gasped out of complete shock. Standing in front of him, still wearing the burgundy cloak, was an exact double of himself!

"Surprised?" the imposter asked in Matt's own voice.

"But...how did...?" Matt stuttered.

"Now you understand the full extent of my powers," the mirror twin replied in Cloakmon's voice. "I'm able to copy other Digimon and, as you just seen for yourself, humans, too."

"What did you do to me?" Matt asked wearily.

"My Mind Merge copied all of your memories into my mind," Cloakmon replied as he removed his cloak, which disappeared as soon as he took it off. "I know everything that you know now."

"That's...not possible," Matt muttered out loud.

"You don't think so?" Cloakmon asked. "I can prove it. I can tell you anything that only you would know."

"Oh, yeah? Like what?" Matt asked a bit skeptically.

"Well, back when you and the other original Digi-Destined were battling the Dark Masters, one of those Dark Masters, Puppetmon, kidnapped your little brother, T.K.," Cloakmon started. "He managed to escape by himself, which caught you completely off guard. You wandered away from the other children and ran into a Digimon called Cherrymon, one of Puppetmon's hench-mon. He convinced you that the only way you could change like the other children did was to defeat your rival. Cherrymon had you look at the Lake of Reflections, which would reveal the identity of your rival. When you looked at the surface of the lake, you saw your friend, Tai. You even end up having your Digimon at Mega level, Metal Garurumon, battle Tai's Mega Digimon, Wargreymon."

Matt stared at him with an astonished look on his face. Suddenly, he burst into laughter.

"What's so funny about that?" Cloakmon asked. "That is what really happened."

"Come on! All the Digimon know everything that goes on in the Digiworld," Matt pointed out with a smirk on his face. "I'll bet they all know what happened between me and Cherrymon. You're gonna have to do better than that to prove that you really absorbed all of my thoughts, Cloakmon." He turned his head to the side, as though he didn't want to hear anything more from the Digimon.

"Although what you said is true, Matt, I can still prove that I absorbed your thoughts," Cloakmon pointed out. "I can reveal secrets that you never, ever told anyone."

"Yeah, right," Matt retorted. There was a moment of silence that followed.

"You have a crush on one of the girls in your group," he heard Cloakmon whisper out loud. Matt quickly turned toward the Digimon; his eyes and mouth wide open from shock.

"I knew that would catch your attention," Cloakmon muttered sinisterly. "Still think that I didn't really absorb your memories?"

"You-you're bluffing," Matt stuttered. "You just took a wild guess, that's all."

"Oh, really?" Cloakmon asked. "What if I identified the girl you have a crush on? Would that make you believe?" Matt didn't say a word after that.

"I guess you believe me now, don't you, Matt?" Cloakmon asked as he turned toward the cave's entrance and started to leave.

"Where are you going?" Matt demanded.

"Where do you think I'm going?" the disguised Digimon asked nonchalantly. "I didn't do this all for nothing."

Matt gasped when he realized what Cloakmon planned to do. "You won't be able to pull it off, Cloakmon!" Matt shouted. "You can't fool my friends!"

"We'll just see about that!" Cloakmon shouted as he turned around and quickly grabbed Matt's digivice. "You won't be needing this anymore," the Digimon muttered as he hooked it onto his jeans. "I would like to keep chatting with you..." Cloakmon continued before he cleared his throat.

"...But I have to rejoin my friends before they start to worry about me," he finished in Matt's voice as he left the real Matt alone in the dark cave...

"Matt! Can you hear me?" T.K. shouted.

"Where are you, Matt?" Tai yelled, cupping his hands over his mouth. The eleven kids and the twelve Digimon woke up a few minutes ago and discovered that Matt was missing. They were now searching the woods for him.

"Maybe an evil Digimon got him," Zack muttered loud enough for Joe to hear.

"What if he's right, and that Digimon comes back for the rest of us?" Joe asked panicky.

"Now you've gone and done it, Zack," Gomamon retorted as he rolled his eyes.

"Hey, everyone! Over here!" they heard Marisa shout. The kids and their Digimon quickly ran over to where Marisa and Chamelamon were standing.

"What is it, Marisa?" Marni asked. Her sister pointed at a bunch of sticks that were scattered closely together.

"It appears as though there was some sort of struggle here," Izzy theorized.

"Maybe Zack's right, and an evil Digimon did get Matt," Gabumon reluctantly admitted.

"Hey!" they heard a familiar voice shout. The kids and the Digimon looked up and saw Matt emerge from a cluster of trees.

"Matt! You're okay!" T.K. exclaimed happily as his older brother stopped in front of the group, completely exhausted from running.

"Matt, what happened?" Gabumon asked curiously.

"Last night...a Digimon named Cloakmon...kidnapped me...I managed to escape..." Matt quickly explained between gasps of air.

"Cloakmon? Who's that?" Sora asked.

"I remember hearing about Cloakmon," Chamelamon announced. "He's a Digimon with mysterious powers. He could have been sent by Armaggedamon, but Cloakmon's a lone Digimon who doesn't normally answer to anyone."

"What kind of mysterious powers does this Cloakmon have?" Marisa asked.

"I wish I knew," Chamelamon reluctantly admitted.

"Cloakmon is able to copy other Digimon, and humans, too," Matt told them.

"How do you know that?" Tai asked.

"I saw him use his powers right in front of me," Matt explained.

"Wait a minute! How do we know that you're the real Matt and not Cloakmon in disguise?" Yuuchi asked suspiciously as he crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"Because I still have this," Matt told him as he showed everyone his digivice. "Cloakmon didn't get the chance to swipe it from me."

"He must be telling the truth," Sora whispered to the others. "There's no way someone could make a fake digivice."

"Where did Cloakmon take you?" Tai asked. "We gotta stop him before he disguises himself as one of our Digimon, or one of us."

"I'll show you. Follow me," Matt explained as he returned to the cluster of trees. He smirked a little bit to himself as he led the others deeper in the forest.

_My plan is working perfectly,_ Cloakmon thought to himself. _Those kids have no idea what's in store for them._ The other kids and their Digimon continued to follow Matt and Gabumon deeper into the forest. Marisa and Chamelamon lagged behind the group, along with Marni, Yuuchi, Snakemon, and Nanmimon.

"Marisa, what's wrong?" Chamelamon asked.

"Yeah, what's up?" Marni whispered.

"I don't know. It's just...are we really sure that's Matt?" Marisa whispered uncertainly.

"He had his digivice, didn't he?" Yuuchi retorted.

"Yeah, that's true, but..." Marisa was interrupted by an extremely loud buzzing sound.

"Duck, everyone!" Tai yelled in warning. Everyone quickly dropped down to the ground as something massive flew right above their heads.

Yuuchi looked up and saw a bug Digimon that looked like a giant wasp. "What was that?" he asked.

"That was Flymon," Biyomon explained as everyone cautiously stood up.

"Heads up! He's coming back!" Marni shouted, pointing up at Flymon.

"Brown Stingers!" Flymon shouted as he quickly shot out ten massive stingers one by one. Fortunately, all of the Digi-Destined kids and their Digimon avoided all of the stingers.

"I'll take care of Flymon," Biyomon shouted as she stood ready for battle. "Biyomon digivolve to...Birdramon!"

"Go get him, Birdramon!" Sora shouted as her Champion Digimon flew after Flymon. The two Champion Digimon collided forcefully in the air.

"Brown Stinger!" Flymon shouted, shooting out one of his stingers at Birdramon.

"Meteor Wing!" Birdramon shouted. Her fireballs instantly burned Flymon's stinger into ashes. Enraged, Flymon charged at Birdramon and hit her head on.

"Birdramon needs help," Chamelamon announced.

"Go for it," Marisa encouraged her Digimon.

"Chamelamon digivolve to...Dragomon!"

"I'll help, too," Gabumon added. "Gabumon digivolve to..." To the Digimon's surprise, he didn't digivolve into Garurumon.

"Don't worry, Gabumon," Matt assured him. "Those two can handle Flymon by themselves."

Gabumon nodded hesitantly as he watched Dragomon take off into the air. "Inferno Blast!" she shouted.

"Meteor Wing!" Birdramon shouted. The two fiery attacks nailed Flymon head on, burning him to a crisp and causing him to disintegrate.

"Way to go, Birdramon!" Sora cheered as the two Champion Digimon landed on the ground.

"You, too, Dragomon!" Marisa added. As soon as Birdramon and Dragomon landed on the ground, they both de-digivolved back to Biyomon and Chamelamon.

"No problem," Biyomon admitted.

"That's why we're here: to protect you," Chamelamon pointed out.

"Come on, everyone. We need to keep going, or we're gonna lose Cloakmon," Matt explained.

"Matt's right," Tai admitted. "If we don't stop Cloakmon now, he'll try to trick us later on. Lead the way."

Matt headed toward a pair of large bushes and parted them before stepping through them. The other kids and their Digimon continued to follow their friend deeper into the forest...

"HELP! SOMEBODY HELP ME!" Matt shouted as loud as he could. The only response he got was his echoes from within the cave. He tried once again to free his arms, but the shackles held him back.

Matt took a deep breath and shouted, "HELP! CAN ANYONE HEAR ME?" He waited for a few moments, but there was no response at all.

"This is hopeless," Matt muttered to himself. "Cloakmon is probably with my friends right now, and I can't do anything about it!" He groaned out of frustration and closed his eyes.

_I can't give up now,_ Matt thought. _I need to help my friends before it's too late!_

When Matt opened his eyes, he was shocked to see a ball of glowing blue light fly into the cave. "What...is that?" Matt asked himself slowly.

The ball of light hovered up and down in front of Matt, as though it was examining him. Suddenly, the ball of blue light shot a tiny blue spark at the lock of the shackles holding his arms. To Matt's surprise, the lock instantly clicked open. As he removed his hands from the shackles and rubbed his sore wrists, the ball of light moved down to the shackles holding his ankles and shot another spark into the lock. As soon as he heard the lock click open, Matt bent down to remove the shackles holding his ankles together. To his surprise, when Matt stood up, the ball of blue light had disappeared.

"Where did it go?" Matt asked himself as he looked around the cave. The strange ball of light was nowhere to be found. "What was it, a Digimon?" he muttered to himself. "Whatever it was, it saved me. Now, I gotta find my friends before it's too late."

Matt looked out the cave's entrance and realized that he was on a steep hillside. Looking down at the dense forest below him, Matt noticed some small clearings not far from the bottom of the hillside. To his surprise, he saw his friends walking through one of the clearings with his impostor: Cloakmon!

"Hey, guys! Up here!" Matt shouted while waving his arms, hoping to get his friends' attention. Unfortunately, they couldn't hear him. Determined to put a stop to Cloakmon's plan, Matt ran as fast as he dared down the steep hillside...

"Can we please stop and rest for a while?" Yuuchi complained. "My feet are killing me!"

"For once, I agree with Yuuchi," Zack reluctantly admitted. "But don't get used to it!" he warned Yuuchi. The other kids and their Digimon laughed over their arguing.

"I think we could all use a break," Tai admitted as he leaned against a tree. Everyone else sat on the ground, except for Matt, who was heading toward some bushes.

"Where are you going, Matt?" T.K. asked.

"I'm just gonna check the path ahead, just to make sure we're going in the right direction."

"I'll go with you," Gabumon suggested as he started to get up.

"I'll be fine by myself, Gabumon. I'll only be gone for a few minutes," Matt explained before he headed deeper into the woods. Gabumon sighed deeply as he sat back down next to Marisa and Chamelamon.

"Is there something bothering you, Gabumon?" Chamelamon asked curiously.

"Well...when Flymon attacked us, I tried to digivolve to Garurumon, but for some reason, I couldn't," Gabumon reluctantly confessed.

"You couldn't digivolve?" Chamelamon asked out of disbelief. Gabumon silently nodded his head in response.

"Has that ever happened before?" Marisa asked curiously.

"Only a couple of times," Gabumon explained. "Before, I was either tired or hungry those times I couldn't digivolve. But I wasn't either tired or hungry when Flymon attacked us."

"If you weren't tired or hungry, then what could have stopped you from digivolving into Garurumon?" Chamelamon asked.

"I don't know," Gabumon reluctantly admitted.

Marisa gasped when she recalled what Sora told them last night: 'A good friend of ours once told us that the digivices would be powerless in the hands of anyone else.'

"Hey, guys?" Marisa asked the other kids.

"What is it, Marisa?" Sora asked.

"I know this is going to sound kind of strange, but...do you think that maybe that's not really Matt, that it could be...Cloakmon?" Marisa hesitantly asked.

"What makes you think that?" Tai asked.

"Well, Gabumon told us that he wasn't able to digivolve when Flymon attacked," Marisa explained. "If that guy we've been with all day is really Matt, then why would Gabumon have problems digivolving?"

"Hmm...good point," Tai muttered thoughtfully.

Just then, Matt came back. "You guys ready to go?" he asked. Matt noticed that everyone was looking at him strangely. "What's the matter, guys? Why are you looking at me like that?" he asked.

"Well, there's a little bit of a problem, Matt," Tai explained.

"If that's your real name!" Yuuchi retorted suspiciously.

"What is with you, Yuuchi?" Matt asked. "Of course, I'm Matt. What's with the first degree here?"

"If you're really Matt, then how come Gabumon couldn't digivolve, hmm?" Yuuchi asked as he crossed his arms.

The question caught Matt a bit by surprise, but he didn't let it show. "No big deal. Gabumon was probably just tired or hungry at the time," he replied.

"Ehhh, wrong! Guess again!" Yuuchi retorted.

"Gabumon couldn't digivolve because only the Digi-Destined can use the digivices," Tai explained as he approached Matt. "And you're not one of the Digi-Destined...Cloakmon!"

Tai's accusation caught Matt completely off-guard, and it showed. Drops of sweat formed all over his face and he was apparently speechless. Tai took this opportunity to grab Matt's digivice from the cleverly disguised Cloakmon. To everyone's surprise, Cloakmon's eyes glowed pale blue for a few seconds out of anger of being discovered.

"Give that back!" Cloakmon yelled angrily. He made an attempt to get the digivice back, but Tai quickly jumped out of his way.

"Hey, Tai!" a familiar voice shouted. The kids, their Digimon, and Cloakmon looked up and saw the real Matt jump out of the bushes.

"That's not me, guys. That's Cloakmon!" he shouted, pointing at his impostor.

"Yeah, we figured that out when Gabumon couldn't digivolve," Sora explained.

To the kids and Digimon's surprise, Cloakmon charged at Matt and punched him in the face. The two Matt's fell to the ground and started to roll around in a fury of fists.

"All right, stop that!" Tai shouted. He ran towards the two Matt's and separated them.

"Umm...Tai...we got a little problem here," Marni pointed out, looking back and forth at the two Matt's.

"Good going, Tai. Now we can't tell which one's Matt and which one's Cloakmon!" Yuuchi retorted sarcastically.

_This is working out perfectly,_ Cloakmon thought to himself. _They can't tell the two of us apart. If I can keep this charade up, perhaps I can convince the Digi-Destined that I'm Matt._

"You guys, I'm the real Matt," Cloakmon replied in Matt's voice.

"He's lying! I'm Matt!" Matt yelled. The other kids and the Digimon stared at them with confused looks on their faces.

"Aww, man! They might as well be twins," Yuuchi muttered out loud.

"I can't tell them apart at all. Can you?" Zack asked Sora.

"No way," Sora replied slowly as she carefully watched the two Matt's.

"There's only a fifty percent chance of picking out the real Matt," Izzy muttered thoughtfully. "We find to find a way to determine who's who."

Marisa was also carefully watching the two Matt's, hoping silently that Cloakmon would slip and accidentally expose himself. Suddenly, she gasped quickly. In the blink of an eye, she saw Cloakmon to her left. To her right was Matt, but there was a small blue glow radiating from his chest. Marisa didn't recognize the shape within the glow, but as soon as she saw the blue glow, it disappeared, and Cloakmon returned to looking like Matt's mirror twin.

"Marni?" Marisa whispered to her sister.

"What's up?" Marni asked in a whisper.

"Did you just see that?" Marisa whispered.

"See what?" Marni asked curiously.

"You didn't see what just happened?" Marisa asked, a bit surprised.

"What are you two whispering about?" Sora asked as she and the other Digi-Destined kids, except for Matt, looked at the two sisters curiously.

"Never mind that," Marisa replied. "Tai, could I have Matt's digivice?"

"What for?" Tai asked curiously.

"I know which one of them is Matt," Marisa quickly explained.

"And how do you know that?" Yuuchi asked suspiciously.

"Just trust me on this, okay?" Marisa asked.

"I don't know about you guys, but if Marisa says that she knows who Matt is, I believe her," Gabumon admitted.

"Yeah, me, too," Chamelamon added.

Tai let out a slight groan before he opened his hand, which contained Matt's digivice. "Okay, Marisa," he agreed as he put the digivice in Marisa's hand. "Here's your chance."

Marisa took a deep breath before she left the other kids and the Digimon and slowly made her way toward the two Matt's.

"Marisa, you gotta believe me," the Matt on her left pleaded as she stopped right in front of them.

"Don't listen to him! He's Cloakmon!" the Matt to her right exclaimed.

Marisa looked at the Matt on her left for a moment, and then she looked at the Matt on her right. Finally, her violet eyes rested on the Matt on her left.

"Way to go, Marisa," he replied. "Now, can I have my digivice back?"

To his surprise, Marisa replied, "The digivice didn't belong to you in the first place." She quickly put the digivice in the real Matt's hand.

Instantly, the digivice reacted by radiating a white glow. His impostor fell to his knees and covered his eyes from the brilliant white light. To the Digi-Destined kids' surprise, Cloakmon returned to his true form.

"You lost, Cloakmon!" Matt yelled angrily at Cloakmon. "Give it up!"

Cloakmon looked at Matt with sheer anger burning in his pale blue eyes. "I don't give up so easily," he muttered sinisterly. Suddenly, Cloakmon quickly stood up and made a run for it.

"Come on, you guys! We gotta stop Cloakmon!" Tai shouted as he and the other Digi-Destined children, along with their Digimon, ran after Cloakmon. The cloaked Digimon got a good lead on the kids, but his luck ran out when he stopped at the edge of a cliff. Cloakmon turned around, but the twelve kids and their Digimon had him boxed in.

"It's over for you, Cloakmon!" Tai yelled. There was an eerie silence that followed.

Suddenly, Cloakmon abruptly started to laugh sinisterly, which was obviously scaring T.K., Kari, Mimi, and Marisa. "You're obviously forgetting something I told you about myself," he muttered out loud as he turned face the Digi-Destined. They were shocked to see his eyes glowing pale blue.

"I can transform into other Digimon as well!" Cloakmon yelled as a deep violet light engulfed his body.

The twelve kids and their Digimon took a few steps back as Cloakmon's body expanded up to ten times his size. He also sprouted a long tail and a pair of massive wings. When the deep violet light faded away, the eight original Digi-Destined kids and their Digimon gasped out of shock. They recognized the huge black gargoyle-like Digimon that stood where Cloakmon once was.

"What is that?" Zack asked fearfully.

"No way!" Tai slowly exclaimed.

"Cloakmon transformed into Devidramon!" Sora exclaimed.

Devidramon bellowed out a loud roar as he started to flap his massive wings. The twelve kids and their Digimon ducked in order to avoid the powerful winds caused by Devidramon's wings as he took off into the air and flew away.

"Aww, man! He got away!" Marni complained as she stood up, along with the others.

"Don't worry about it, Marni," Marisa assured her sister. "I doubt that we've seen the last of Cloakmon."

"Marisa's right," Izzy admitted. "Armaggedamon is not going to give up until he succeeds in taking over the Digiworld."

"And there's no way we're gonna let him get away with that! Right, guys?" Tai asked. Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Shouldn't we keep moving before another Digimon attacks us?" Zack suggested.

"That's a good plan. I like that plan a lot," Joe agreed without hesitation.

As the twelve kids and their Digimon headed back into the forest, Marisa and Chamelamon lagged behind the group.

Marisa was thinking to herself about what happened earlier when a familiar voice asked, "Marisa?" She looked up at Matt, who was walking next to her, along with Gabumon.

"Yeah, Matt?" Marisa asked.

"Look, I don't know how you pulled it off, but thanks a lot," Matt admitted.

"Sure, no problem," Marisa muttered just loud enough for him to hear.

"How did you figure it out, Marisa?" Matt asked curiously.

"I'm not exactly sure what happened," Marisa admitted as they continued walking through the forest...

Unknown to the Digi-Destined kids and their Digimon, they were being watched from a distance. Cloakmon was keeping an eye on them with a small black telescope as he stood on a branch high in a tall tree.

Suddenly, a loud beep came from a black walkie-talkie attached to Cloakmon's belt. He immediately picked it up and asked, "Yes, Armaggedamon?"

"Did the trap work?" Armaggedamon asked.

"Unfortunately, it didn't work as planned," Cloakmon reported.

"WHAT?" Armaggedamon yelled angrily.

"Somehow, they managed to figure out who I really was. But, I did discover something that may be of interest to you."

Armaggedamon took in a deep breath, as though he was trying to calm himself down. "What did you find out?" he asked.

"It appears that Marisa, the girl with the Chamelamon, has some sort of power that's she's not entirely aware of," Cloakmon revealed. "My transformation was completely flawless, yet she managed to see through it somehow. With your permission, Armaggedamon, I would like to follow these children in order to confirm my suspicions about Marisa."

There were a few moments of silence that followed. "You have my permission, Cloakmon," Armaggedamon finally agreed.

"Keep me posted on your progress."

"Of course, Armaggedamon," Cloakmon replied before turning off the walkie-talkie and hooking it back on his belt. He picked up the telescope and focused it once again on the twelve kids and their Digimon, who were walking through the forest, with Tai in the lead. Cloakmon searched among the children until he found Marisa, who was talking to Matt in the back of the line.

_There's something special about that girl, and I won't rest until I find out what it is,_ Cloakmon thought to himself as he slowly brought the telescope down. He put the telescope away in a pouch connected to his belt before he climbed down the tree and left...TO BE CONTINUED


	8. Heavy Metal

FROM THE DEPTHS

**Part 8: Heavy Metal  
**  
"I don't think I can go another step, you guys," Zack complained as he leaned against a tree so he could catch his breath.

"Me, neither. I'm so tired!" Mimi whined as she plopped down to the ground on her knees.

"Looks like we're taking a break," Matt remarked as he, the other kids, and their Digimon sat down on the ground. A day has passed since the Digi-Destined's first encounter with Cloakmon. They have nothing but walking ever since that morning without stopping.

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm not that tired," Yuuchi claimed, who was still standing.

"You're kidding, right?" Joe asked out of disbelief.

"It's kinda hard to tell with Yuuchi," Nanmimon admitted.

While everyone else was resting, Yuuchi looked up at the surrounding trees. He spotted a tall one near where Marni, Marisa, Snakemon, and Chamelamon were sitting.

As he approached the tree, Marni asked suspiciously, "What are you up to, Yuuchi?"

"I'm gonna climb the tree. What do you think I'm up to?" Yuuchi retorted. As he pulled himself onto the first branch, Marni and Snakemon quickly stood up.

"Come on, Marisa. We better get out of the way," Marni told her sister.

"What for?" Marisa asked curiously.

"If Yuuchi falls, he won't land on either of us!" Marni explained in a loud whisper.

Yuuchi obviously overheard her, because he looked down and retorted, "I'm not gonna fall, Marni! I know what I'm doing!"

Marisa and Chamelamon stood up and watched, along with Marni and Snakemon, as Yuuchi continued to climb further up the tree. When he reached the top, Yuuchi gasped out of astonishment. He saw several tall steel-and-concrete buildings, which looked a lot like a city back in the real world, about a few miles away.

"Whoa!" Yuuchi whispered softly to himself.

"Yuuchi! Hey, Yuuchi!" Yuuchi heard Tai shout. He looked down at the other kids and their Digimon, who were all gathered around the tree.

"What's up, Tai?" Yuuchi shouted as he started to make his way down.

"What's going on? You've been up there for a while!" Tai shouted back up to him.

"You guys are not gonna believe this!" Yuuchi exclaimed as he sat down on the first branch of the tree so he could catch his breath.

"What is it, Yuuchi?" Sora asked.

"There's some sort of city about three, four miles away from us," Yuuchi explained quickly.

"We should consider making a stop at this city, Tai," Izzy suggested. "Perhaps we could find a place where we can get some necessary supplies."

"Yeah," Marni agreed. "Maybe they got like one of those twenty-four hour mini-marts or something."

"All right, we'll check this place out. Which way is it, Yuuchi?" Tai asked.

"That way," Yuuchi replied, pointing to his right at the forest ahead.

"Great! Let's go," Tai exclaimed as he led the way, followed by the other kids and their Digimon.

"Hey! Wait for me!" Yuuchi shouted as he jumped off the branch and hurried to catch up with the others...

"Hmm..." Cloakmon muttered to himself. He was sitting in a tree, watching the Digi-Destined kids and their Digimon through his telescope. He was a bit startled when his walkie-talkie beeped loudly. Cloakmon picked it up and asked, "Yes, Armaggedamon?"

"Do you have any news for me?" Armaggedamon asked.

"Sure do. It looks like those kids are heading towards Mamemon City," Cloakmon reported.

"Excellent work, Cloakmon," Armaggedamon admitted. "I'll have the Mamemon Brothers take care of those meddlesome brats. Keep an eye on them for me."

"Of course, Armaggedamon," Cloakmon replied before he turned off the walkie-talkie. He re-hooked it to his belt before leaping out of the tree...

Meanwhile, somewhere inside the city, a rather small, odd-looking Digimon was napping in a chair. He was inside a control with tons of TV monitors, which showed different sections of the city via security cameras. The Digimon's body looked like a large steel ball, with a rather cute, innocent- looking face. He had long robotic arms with bright red boxing gloves, and short robotic legs.

"Mamemon!" a voice shouted.

The Digimon awoke with a start and fell out of his chair. Mamemon looked toward the entrance, where two other Digimon stood. One of them looked similar to Mamemon, only he looked more like an android, with a massive energy cannon as his left arm and three curved metal claws on his right hand.

The second Digimon was a floating dark purple head with curved bullhorns, long metal arms with brown gloves on his hands, and a devilish grin with sharp teeth. In one hand, the Digimon carried a menacing red chainsaw.

"What do you two want?" Mamemon asked a bit rudely as he stood up.

"We have a little problem, brother," the android-type Digimon muttered out loud.

"And what problem is that, Metal Mamemon?"

"Since when do you have the most authority out of the three of us?" Metal Mamemon asked.

"Yeah," the Digimon with the chainsaw agreed. "It's bad enough that we're known around the Digiworld as the 'Mamemon Brothers.' Now you had to name the city that all three of us discovered after yourself?"

Mamemon glared at the dark purple Digimon sinisterly. "Stay out of this, Giromon!" he sneered.

"I'm telling you!" Giromon shouted as he angrily slammed his fist on the control panel, smashing some buttons in the process. "We have to rename this city!"

"And what would you suggest we name the city, Giromon?" Mamemon asked.

"Well...Giromon City would sound so much better than Mamemon City!"

"No way! It should be Metal Mamemon City," Metal Mamemon argued.

"That's way too long! We should just keep it the way it is: Mamemon City!" Mamemon interrupted.

"Well, I think it should be Giromon City, since it has such a nice ring to it," Giromon admitted boastfully.

"You are so selfish, Giromon!" Metal Mamemon yelled.

"Hey! I'm not the only one who wants this city named after him," Giromon pointed out in a snotty voice.

Just then, a phone on the control panel began to ring. Giromon made a grab for the phone and picked it up. "Yeah, what do you want?" he asked in an annoyed tone.

There was a furious garbled response over the phone, loud enough for Mamemon and Metal Mamemon to overhear.

"A-Armaggedamon!" Giromon exclaimed out of surprise, his cheeks turning red from embarrassment.

"Nice going, Giromon," Mamemon retorted.

"Please forgive me, sir. I swear that will never happen again. Y-yes, sir. I'm putting you on speaker right now," Giromon stuttered nervously as he pressed a red button near the phone.

"Mamemon, Metal Mamemon, Giromon, listen carefully. The Digi-Destined are coming your way. I want you to keep an eye out for them."

"Yes, sir!" the three Digimon chorused. "They are stronger than they look, so don't underestimate them," Armaggedamon warned them.

"I want you to take care of them. Make sure that they don't interfere with my plans any further, got it?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Good. Now, get to it! I don't want any mistakes this time," Armaggedamon added before hanging up.

Mamemon and Metal Mamemon took seats in front of the control panel and carefully watched the TV monitors, while Giromon hovered back and forth, watching the monitors as well. Suddenly, Giromon stopped and focused on a monitor that revealed the southern border between Mamemon City and the forest surrounding it. He gasped when he saw twelve human children and twelve Digimon in the forest heading towards the city border.

"Hey, you guys! I found them!" Giromon announced.

"You did?" Metal Mamemon asked out of disbelief.

"What's their location?" Mamemon asked.

"Right on the southern border," Giromon replied, pointing at the monitor with the kids and their Digimon.

"All right! Let's get them!" Metal Mamemon yelled as he and Giromon headed for the door.

"Hold it, you two!" Mamemon shouted as he cut them off.

"Why are you stopping us?" Giromon demanded angrily, who was obviously itching for a fight.

"Let's see where these kids go first," Mamemon explained. "Then, we'll give them the traditional 'Mamemon Brothers' welcome." Sinister grins slowly spread on Metal Mamemon and Giromon's faces.

"Good plan, Mamemon," Metal Mamemon admitted. The three Digimon brothers laughed evilly as they headed back to the control panel...

"Geez! This place is huge!" Marni exclaimed, looking around at the tall steel-and-concrete buildings surrounding the group of kids and Digimon.

"This city's even bigger than Tokyo!" Zack admitted.

"What's a Tokyo, Zack?" Cheetamon asked.

"That's a huge city back in Japan, where we're all from," Zack explained. "Tokyo also happens to be Japan's capital."

"Hey, lookit!" T.K. exclaimed, pointing at a small building on the other side of the street.

"It's a mini-mart," Kari announced.

"Hey! We can totally pack up on grub in that mini-mart!" Yuuchi exclaimed.

"If grub means food, then count me in, too!" Nanmimon added excitedly. The twosome were about to run across the street when Tai cut them off.

"Hey! What gives, Tai?" Yuuchi retorted loudly.

"Hold on a second, Yuuchi. You can't just go barging in," Tai explained.

"And why not?" Zack asked.

"In the past, we have learned that not everything is what it appears to be in the Digiworld," Izzy explained. "This mini-mart could turn out to be an illusion, or even a trap." The four new kids groaned when they heard this news and sat down on the sidewalk.

"Still...there is a chance that this mini-mart is for real, right?" Marni asked.

"Yeah, maybe," Tai admitted.

"So...how about, instead of all twelve of us kids going, we have like three or four kids go check out this mini-mart?" Marni suggested.

"I don't know..." Tai muttered out loud.

"Aww, come on, Tai!" Marni complained as she stood up. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm not the only one who's starving here!" She gestured toward the other kids and their Digimon, who were sitting on the sidewalk, moaning quietly out of hunger.

"Marni does have an interesting proposition, Tai," Izzy admitted. "Having only a few of us entering the mini-mart would be much safer than all of us going, in case it does turn out to be a trap."

"Yeah, what Izzy said," Marni agreed.

"I guess we could do that," Tai muttered out loud. "Who wants to go with me?"

"I'll go!" Marni volunteered.

"I guess I could go, too," Matt admitted as he stood up.

"Hmm...I think we need one more," Tai muttered thoughtfully.

"And I know who that should be," Marni boasted knowingly.

"Who, then?" Matt asked.

"Marisa!" Marni announced, pointing at her sister.

"Who, me?" Marisa asked.

"No, the other girl named Marisa," Marni retorted as she pulled Marisa up by her arm. "Come on!" she complained as she dragged Marisa by her arm across the street to the mini-mart, with Snakemon and Chamelamon following close behind.

"Makes me glad I don't have an older sister," Tai muttered out loud as he and Matt watched Marni and Marisa.

"Whatever," Matt retorted. They turned their heads and looked at the other kids and their Digimon.

"We should be back in a few minutes, so stay put, everyone," Tai announced as he and Matt crossed the street, followed by Agumon and Gabumon. When they reached the mini-mart, Marni, Marisa, Snakemon, and Chamelamon were more or less waiting patiently for them by the automatic sliding doors.

"What took you guys forever?" Marni retorted as Tai, Matt, Agumon, and Gabumon joined them.

"Hey! We're just trying to be careful, Marni," Tai retorted back. "This isn't a video game! Believe me; I learned that the hard way."

"Come on, you two. Stop fighting," Marisa pleaded. Tai and Marni reluctantly kept quiet.

"Well, what are we doing standing around here for?" Matt asked. "Let's go check this place out." He was about to try to open the doors when they automatically slid open.

"Maybe thisss cccity isssn't abandoned after all," Snakemon reluctantly admitted.

Slowly, the four kids carefully looked inside the mini-mart. All the lights were on, but the store was completely deserted.

"Lights are on, but no one's home," Marni joked.

"Ha! Very funny, Marni," Tai retorted dully as he, Matt, Marni, and Marisa carefully entered the store, followed by Snakemon, Agumon, Gabumon, and Chamelamon.

"Hello! Is there anybody here?" Tai shouted. The four kids and their Digimon listened carefully, but Tai's question was met by complete silence.

"Yup. Definitely nobody here, except for us," Marni admitted.

"No kidding, Marni," Snakemon muttered out loud.

"What do we do now, Tai?" Agumon asked.

"Well, since there's no one here, I guess nobody would mind if we get some food to eat," Tai replied.

"All right!" Marni exclaimed.

"Hold on a minute, Marni," Marisa interrupted. "We have to get enough food for everyone, not just yourself."

"Oh, yeah," Marni reluctantly admitted.

"Let's look around and see what we can find," Matt suggested. The four kids walked down the main aisle of the store, followed by their Digimon.

"Hey, idea!" Marni exclaimed as she picked up a loaf of bread from the shelf. "If we can find some cold cuts or cheese in this place, we can have sandwiches for lunch!"

"Good idea, Marni," Tai admitted. "Hold onto that, just in case." The kids and their Digimon continued down the hallway until they reached the large coolers for the cold food in back of the store.

"Looks like we're in luck," Tai admitted, pointing at several packages of cheese, sliced turkey, ham, salami, and other lunchmeats inside one of the coolers.

"You might want to get another loaf of bread, Marni," Marisa told her sister.

"What for?" Marni asked.

"We're going to have to make a lot of sandwiches to feed twelve kids and twelve Digimon," Marisa explained.

"Okay," Marni agreed as she headed back down the main aisle, followed by Snakemon. Marisa turned back toward the coolers. Tai was packing Agumon's arms full of lunchmeat packages.

"I don't think I can hold any more, Tai!" Agumon complained.

"Okay," Tai muttered as he gathered as much packages as he could hold in his arms.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Tai," Matt warned him.

"Why not?" Tai asked as he tried to balance the huge pile of lunchmeat packages in his arms. Unfortunately, Tai lost his balance and fell on his back, and all the lunchmeat packages that he was carrying fell on top of him.

"Tai, are you all right?" Agumon asked as he carefully walked over to Tai.

"No, Agumon!" Tai shouted when he noticed that the pile of lunchmeat packages that Agumon was carrying was starting to sway. Unfortunately, the warning came too late. The pile of lunchmeat packages that Agumon was carrying came crashing down on top of Tai.

"Oops! Sorry, Tai!" Agumon exclaimed as he tried to help Tai stand up. Matt and Gabumon laughed out loud over Tai's situation, whereas Marisa and Chamelamon tried to muffle their giggling.

"That was a smooth move, Tai!" Marni retorted.

Tai, Matt, Marisa, Agumon, Gabumon, and Chamelamon looked up at Marni, who had just rejoined them. She was carrying two loaves of bread in one hand.

"I suppose you have a better idea, Marni?" Tai retorted as he stood up.

"Well, I do have a better idea, Tai, and unlike your idea, mine will actually work," Marni boasted.

"Hey, Marni! I found them!" they heard Snakemon shout. The snake Digimon was slithering toward them, carrying some empty plastic bags with him.

"Good job, Snakemon," Marni admitted as she took the plastic bags from her Digimon.

"No problem," Snakemon admitted.

Marni opened one of the bags and carefully placed the loaves of bread in it. "Here," she announced, tossing the other bags to Tai and Matt. "You can put everything in those bags. Much better than trying to carry all that stuff in your arms, right, Tai?"

"Humph!" Tai huffed angrily to himself as he and Matt picked up some of the packages from the floor. Matt put the packages he picked up in the bag that Gabumon was holding, while Tai put the packages he picked up in the bag Agumon was holding open for him.

"You know, Marisa, this place reminds me of something," Marni muttered out loud.

"What do you mean, Marni?" Marisa asked curiously.

Marni was obviously thinking long and hard about it. She suddenly snapped her fingers. "Oh! Now I remember! This place is like that little store in Highton View Terrace that we used to go to every weekend!" Unknown to her, Tai and Matt stopped what they were doing when they heard her say "Highton View Terrace."

"Yeah, I remember that place," Marisa admitted. "You were always blowing your allowance on candy and peanuts!"

"Did you say 'Highton View Terrace?' " Tai asked curiously.

"Yeah, we used to live there. So?" Marni asked.

"Well...we used to live in Highton View Terrace, too," Tai admitted, indicating himself and Matt.

"Get outta here!" Marni exclaimed.

"What about Sora and the other kids?" Marisa asked.

"Well, we don't know about Zack and Yuuchi, but all of our friends used to live in Highton View Terrace as well," Matt admitted.

"This is so totally bizarre!" Marni exclaimed. "You know, I felt like I knew you two from somewhere...did you guys ever go to Westside Elementary?"

"Yeah, we used to go there," Tai admitted.

"Sora went to Westside Elementary, too," Matt added.

"I thought that Sora looked familiar, too," Marni admitted. "What are your last names? No, no, no. Let me guess. Umm...Tai Katona?" Tai shook his head no.

"Okay, next one!" Marni muttered out loud. "Uh...Matt Hajba? Lemme guess, no?"

"Not even close," Matt remarked.

"Tai Kamiya and Matt Ishida?" The three kids looked at Marisa curiously. "Is that right?" she asked uncertainly.

"Yeah, it is," Matt admitted, with a slightly surprised expression on his face.

"And is Sora's last name Takenouchi?" Marisa asked as they started to head toward the doors.

"Sure is, Marisa," Tai pointed out. "You're already three for three!"

"You know, Marisa, you were always better at remembering names than I ever was," Marni reluctantly admitted as the four kids and their Digimon left the mini-mart...

"Aww, man! This looks so good!" Yuuchi whined, practically drooling as he stared at the sandwich in front of him.

"Well, you should thank Matt," Marisa pointed out. "He did make all the sandwiches for us."

"Yeah, thanks, Matt," Yuuchi muttered quickly as he picked up the sandwich. He just took his first bite when Tai spoke up.

"Did you two ever live in Highton View Terrace?" Tai asked. Yuuchi looked at him with a surprised look on his face. He quickly swallowed the bite he took before he spoke.

"Yeah, a long time ago. When my grandfather died, we moved to the outskirts of town to take over the family business," Yuuchi confessed sadly.

"What about you, Zack?" Marisa asked.

"I...I honestly don't remember. My parents did tell me that we used to live there," Zack admitted reluctantly.

"So, all four of you are originally from Highton View Terrace?" Joe asked curiously. Zack, Yuuchi, Marni, and Marisa all nodded their heads.

"Hey, does that have anything to do with us being chosen as Digi-Destined?" Marni asked.

"That's part of it, but there's a more important reason why we are the Digi-Destined," Tai admitted.

"And that would be...?" Yuuchi asked as he stood up.

"I'm sorry, but I can't tell you that part until you remember it for yourself," Tai told him.

"Fine, get me all curious for nothing," he retorted. Shaking his head, Yuuchi walked over to where the other new kids and their Digimon were sitting and sat back down on the sidewalk next to Nanmimon. They sat there quietly as they finished eating.

"Is it just me, or does Tai get on anyone else's nerves?" Yuuchi asked, just loud enough for the other three kids to hear.

"He's got big hair and an even bigger ego," Zack muttered.

Yuuchi and Marni snickered over Zack's comment, while Marisa chose to stay silent. Suddenly, she heard a loud noise in the distance, like an explosion.

"Did you guys hear that?" Marisa asked as she stood up.

"Hear what, Marisa?" Matt asked.

"You sure you weren't hearing things?" Yuuchi asked.

"No, I heard it, too," Chamelamon announced.

Suddenly, the twelve kids and their Digimon heard someone shout, "Smiley Bomb!" They saw a large black metal ball drop from the sky and land on the roof of the mini-mart. As soon as the metal ball hit the mini-mart, there was a massive explosion. The kids and their Digimon ducked for cover as debris from the explosion flew over their heads. When the Digi-Destined kids and their Digimon looked up, they were surprised to see three Digimon standing where the mini-mart once stood.

"Aww, man!" Zack exclaimed. "A triple threat!"

"Greetings, Digi-Destined!" Mamemon greeted mockingly.

"I hope you enjoyed your visit here, because this will be the last place you'll see!" Giromon shouted.

"That is, before we turn you over to our boss, Armaggedamon," Metal Mamemon announced.

"What kind of Digimon are they?" Tai asked Izzy, who was opening up his laptop in order to identify the three Digimon.

"Ah-ha! Found them," Izzy announced. "The one on the left is Mamemon, a mutant Digimon. He may appear to be cute and innocent, but his Smiley Bomb and Sparkling Blow attacks will change your mind in an instant! The one in the middle is Giromon, who's a machine Digimon. Watch out for his Chain Saw and Big Bang Boom attacks! And the last one is Metal Mamemon. He's an android Digimon with a powerful Energetic Bomb and Metal Claw attacks."

"That definitely doesn't sound good," Zack remarked nervously.

"Then you're not gonna like this! All three Digimon are at Ultimate levels!" Izzy exclaimed out of shock. The other kids and their Digimon gasped when they heard this news.

"Did you have to tell us that, too, Izzy?" Yuuchi retorted. "It's bad enough knowing what they're capable of!"

"Wanna learn firsthand, Digi-Destined?" they heard Giromon ask sinisterly. The twelve kids and their Digimon looked up at Giromon and noticed that he was juggling a large red metal ball, with several lumps protruding from it, in one hand.

"Get ready for a Big Bang Boom!" Giromon shouted as he threw the red bomb at the Digi-Destined and their Digimon.

"Ahh!" the kids and the Digimon screamed simultaneously as they ran down the street as fast as they could. Giromon's red bomb hit the street and exploded right on contact. There was a massive explosion of thick smoke and flying debris. Mamemon, Metal Mamemon, and Giromon snickered sinisterly.

"We got them for sure!" Giromon boasted as the smoke started to clear. "No way they escaped my Big Bang Boom!"

"Guess again, Giromon!" Metal Mamemon retorted, pointing at the street in front of them. To Giromon's surprise, the Digi-Destined kids and their Digimon were nowhere in sight.

"Ha! My Big Bang Boom destroyed the Digi-Destined!" Giromon cheered.

"Like Metal Mamemon said before, 'Guess again, Giromon!' " Mamemon retorted. He pointed down the main street of Mamemon City, where the Digi-Destined and their Digimon could be seen, running as fast as they could.

"WHAT?" Giromon exclaimed loudly, his eyes literally bugging out of their sockets.

"Let's get them!" Mamemon shouted as they ran after the twelve kids and the twelve Digimon.

As the kids continued running down the street, Zack turned his head around. He gasped loudly when he saw the three Ultimate Digimon chasing after them.

"Move it, you guys! They're coming after us!" Zack yelled to the other kids.

"Let's split up, you guys. That way, we'll lose them," Tai suggested. Just then, the kids and their Digimon reached an intersection in the street.

"Now, everyone!" Tai shouted. He and Agumon, along with Kari, Gatomon, Sora, Biyomon, Marni, and Snakemon, continued running straight down the street. Matt, Gabumon, T.K., Patamon, Joe, Gomamon, Marisa, and Chamelamon turned left at the intersection, while Izzy, Tentomon, Mimi, Palmon, Zack, Cheetamon, Yuuchi, and Nanmimon turned right.

"Ha! Now we got them!" Mamemon sneered. "Giromon, go that way," he ordered, pointing to the left. "And Metal Mamemon, you go that way!" Mamemon pointed to the right, where Izzy, Mimi, Zack, Yuuchi, and their Digimon could still be seen in the distance.

"They won't get away from me!" Metal Mamemon claimed loudly as he ran after them. Giromon giggled maniacally as he headed after Matt and the others, while Mamemon ran down the street after Tai and the others...

"I think he's closing in on us!" Zack shouted as he looked back to see Metal Mamemon getting closer.

At that moment, Izzy stopped running and turned around. "Let's fight him," he suggested.

"Are you crazy? That guy's an Ultimate!" Zack shouted.

"Yeah, but there's only one of him and four of us," Cheetamon pointed out.

"Yeah, he can't be all that hard," Yuuchi agreed.

"Why did I have to get stuck with these guys?" Zack asked himself, shrugging his shoulders in defeat.

"Let's go!" Izzy shouted. Tentomon, Palmon, Cheetamon, and Nanmimon nodded in approval.

"Tentomon digivolve to...Kabuterimon!"

"Palmon digivolve to...Togemon!"

"Cheetamon digivolve to...Panthramon!"

"Nanmimon digivolve to...Neo Nanmimon!"

"You won't get away from me, Digi-Destined! Metal Claw!" Metal Mamemon shouted.

"How about a Needle Spray?" Togemon shouted as she released her needles.

"Razor Claw!" Panthramon shouted, releasing his claws to counterattack Metal Mamemon's Metal Claw. Togemon's needles only bounced off of Metal Mamemon, and Panthramon wasn't strong enough to do much damage.

"He's too strong, Zack. There's not much I can do," Panthramon growled.

"Psychic Blast!" Neo Nanmimon shouted.

"Electro Shocker!" Kabuterimon shouted. Again, the attacks didn't do much damage.

"What are we going to do?" Mimi asked worriedly. "We're barely putting a ding in that guy."

"Energetic Bomb!" Metal Mamemon shouted. He aimed his energy cannon at the Digimon as a ball of orange energy formed at the opening. As soon as the orange energy ball was bigger than his body, Metal Mamemon fired the energy bomb at all four Digimon. The four Champion Digimon got thrown back by the powerful blast, and Neo Nanmimon, Togemon, and Panthramon de-digivolved back to their Rookie forms.

"I'm sorry, Mimi. He's just too strong," Palmon apologized as Mimi helped her up. "You okay, buddy?" Yuuchi asked Nanmimon.

"I think so," Nanmimon muttered out loud.

"How you doing, Cheetamon?" Zack asked.

"You can't take down this Mon so easily," Cheetamon told his human friend.

"It's time for us to take it to the next level, Kabuterimon," Izzy announced to his Digimon as he stood up.

"Right!" Kabuterimon agreed. "Kabuterimon digivolve to...Mega Kabuterimon!"

"Cool! He's huge!" Yuuchi exclaimed in awe as he and Zack gawked at the enormous red beetle.

"Horn Buster!" Mega Kabuterimon shouted. The massive electric blast from Mega Kabuterimon's horn took Metal Mamemon by surprise and sent him flying until he landed into an open dumpster. Metal Mamemon quickly jumped out of the dumpster, and it was obvious by the look on his face that he was furious.

"You guys get going! Mega Kabuterimon and I will hold him off!" Izzy shouted. The three kids nodded and started to run for it, along with Nanmimon, Cheetamon, and Palmon...

"Oh, Digi-Destined? Come out and play!" Giromon shouted. He had just entered a dead-end alley. Although he couldn't see anyone, Giromon had a gut instinct that Matt, T.K., Joe, Marisa, and their Digimon were hiding somewhere in the alley.

"There's no use hiding from me, Digi-Destined! Why don't you come out and fight, you cowards?" Giromon shouted.

"If you insist! Howling Blaster!" Garurumon shouted as he jumped toward Giromon. The Ultimate Digimon barely avoided the blue blast. He turned around, but both Ikkakumon and Dragomon were blocking the only exit. Giromon turned back around and noticed that Angemon had joined Garurumon. He also noticed that Matt, T.K., Joe, and Marisa were standing next to a dumpster behind Garurumon and Angemon.

"If you wanna leave, you'll have to go through us," Ikkakumon boomed.

"Who says I'm leaving? I'm not going until I capture those kids!" Giromon announced.

"Then you'll have to go through us to get to them," Angemon proclaimed as Dragomon and Ikkakumon joined him and Garurumon.

"If you insist," Giromon announced as a red bomb appeared in his hand. "Big Bang Boom!" He threw the bomb at the Digimon, which exploded as soon as it hit the ground. Angemon and Dragomon managed to fly out of the way, but unfortunately, Garurumon and Ikkakumon were caught in the explosion.

"Garurumon!" Matt shouted.

"No, Ikkakumon!" Joe shouted.

When the smoke cleared from the explosion, Garurumon was lying on the ground unconscious, and Ikkakumon had de-digivolved back to Gomamon.

"Two down, and two to go," Giromon remarked sinisterly as he looked up at Dragomon and Angemon. He suddenly started to fly up toward the two remaining Champion Digimon.

"Hand of Fate!" Angemon shouted.

"Inferno Blast!" Dragomon shouted. Unfortunately, Giromon flew through both attacks unscathed.

"Chain Saw!" Giromon shouted as he revved up his chainsaw and struck both Digimon with it.

"Angemon!" T.K. cried out.

"Oh, no! Dragomon!" Marisa shouted. The attack caused the two Champion Digimon to plummet to the ground. When Angemon and Dragomon were almost halfway down, they both de-digivolved to Patamon and Chamelamon.

Once he realized he was falling to the ground, Patamon quickly flapped his wings to slow down his descent. Unfortunately, Chamelamon couldn't do the same.

"Hang on, Chamelamon!" Patamon shouted as he tried to help the lizard Digimon. He grabbed her by the tail and flapped his wings as hard as he could. Unfortunately, Patamon lost his grip, and Chamelamon continued to fall to the ground.

"Chamelamon!" Marisa shouted. She left the safety of the dumpster and ran out into the alley. Before Chamelamon could hit the ground, Marisa dived and caught her just in time.

"Don't worry, Chamelamon. You're gonna be okay," Marisa whispered as she sat up, cradling her Digimon in her arms.

"I wouldn't say the same about you!" a familiar voice shouted from above them. Marisa and Chamelamon looked up and screamed when they saw Giromon advancing toward, wielding his chainsaw.

"Marisa, no!" Matt shouted. He quickly turned to Garurumon, who was now wide awake and standing. "Garurumon, digivolve!" Matt shouted.

"You got it!" Garurumon growled in agreement. "Garurumon digivolve to...Were-Garurumon!"

Marisa kept her eyes closed, afraid that Giromon would get both her and Chamelamon. When she felt something huge run in front of her, Marisa quickly opened her eyes and gasped loudly. She was surprised to see a Digimon that looked a lot like Garurumon standing in front of her, blocking Giromon's Chain Saw attack with his paws. The main difference between this new Digimon and the Garurumon she was familiar with was that this Digimon was standing on his hind legs like a human. He was also wearing dark blue jeans, a brown shoulder pad on his left shoulder, a leather strap across his chest, a long dark blue left sleeve, spiked brown knee pads, and two silver hoop earrings in his left ear.

"Is that...Garurumon?" Marisa asked uncertainly.

"Not anymore, Marisa. Garurumon digivolved to Ultimate," Chamelamon explained. "He's Were-Garurumon now."

"Come on, Marisa! Get out of the way!" Matt shouted. Marisa quickly stood up and rejoined Matt, T.K., Joe, Patamon, and Gomamon, still carrying Chamelamon in her arms.

"Whoa! Very big Digimon!" Giromon admitted nervously as he looked up at Were-Garurumon, who was probably a dozen times bigger than he was. He quickly shook off the scared look on his face and stared at the large wolf Digimon sinisterly.

"You don't scare me, Were-Garurumon!" Giromon claimed. "Chain Saw!"

"Wolf Claw!" Were-Garurumon shouted.

Giromon got the shock of his life when Were-Garurumon's Wolf Claw attack overpowered his Chain Saw attack. "Ahh!" the Digimon screamed as Were-Garurumon's attack struck him hard and sent him flying. Giromon sailed clear out of the alley, over the surrounding buildings, and disappeared from sight.

"Hooray! Were-Garurumon did it!" T.K. cheered.

"That was incredible!" Marisa admitted as she and Chamelamon approached Matt, who was now standing next to Were-Garurumon. "Thank you so much, Matt." Matt quickly looked down at the ground so Marisa couldn't see his cheeks turning red.

Marisa looked over at Were-Garurumon. "And thank you, too, Were- Garurumon, for saving me," she admitted.

Were-Garurumon smiled at the young girl as he nodded his head. Suddenly, the Ultimate Digimon was engulfed in a white light and de-digivolved. When the light disappeared, Marisa gasped out of shock. Sitting where Were-Garurumon once stood was not Gabumon, which was what she was expecting. The unfamiliar Digimon was a round head covered with orange fur, and had a pale peach face and a long protruding dark gray horn on top of his head.

"Hi, Matt!" the little Digimon greeted, looking up at his human partner with his bright brown eyes.

"Hey, buddy," Matt greeted as he picked up the Digimon. "How are you feeling?"

"A little tired...and hungry," the Digimon openly admitted.

"Who is that?" Marisa asked curiously.

"This is Tsunomon," Matt introduced.

"Hi, Marisa," Tsunomon greeted.

Marisa had a bit of a confused look on her face, as though she was trying to figure out something. "Is Tsunomon...Gabumon's In-Training form?" she asked uncertainly. Both Matt and Tsunomon nodded their heads.

"I guess digivolving to Ultimate takes a lot of energy out of the Digimon, huh?"

"Sure does," Matt muttered out loud.

"Sorry to interrupt you two, but shouldn't we get going now?" Joe asked nervously.

"You're right, Joe. Giromon might come back after us," Matt admitted.

"All the more reason for leaving this place!" Joe added.

"Let's go find the others," Matt suggested as he, Marisa, Joe, T.K., and their Digimon left the dark alley...

"Keep it moving! He's gaining on us!" Tai shouted when he noticed that Mamemon was slowly catching up with them.

"I don't know...about you guys...but I'm sick...and tired...of running," Marni gasped from exhaustion. "We can't...do this...forever."

"I agree with Marni," Snakemon admitted. "The only way out of thisss predicament isss to fight Mamemon."

"What do you say, Tai?" Sora asked.

"Marni and Snakemon are right. We're gonna have to fight Mamemon," Tai agreed.

"I'm ready whenever you are, Tai," Agumon announced. The four kids and their Digimon stopped running and turned around to face Mamemon.

"All right, you guys. Get ready," Tai announced. Agumon, Biyomon, and Snakemon all nodded their heads in approval.

"Agumon digivolve to...Greymon!"

"Biyomon digivolve to...Birdramon!"

"Sssnakemon digivolve to...Cobramon!"

"Nova Blast!" Greymon shouted.

"Meteor Wing!" Birdramon shouted.

"Cobra Fang!" Cobramon shouted.

"Lightning Paw!" Gatomon shouted.

The four attacks combined nailed Mamemon, but unfortunately, it didn't slow him down one bit.

"Sparkling Blow!" Mamemon shouted. He raised both his arms up and both boxing gloves shot from his arms like missiles. One of the boxing gloves nailed Gatomon, while the other connected with Cobramon's stomach.

"Gatomon!" Kari cried as her Digimon fell on the street, along with Cobramon.

"Come on, Cobramon! Get up!" Marni shouted.

Cobramon tried to get back up, but he couldn't do it. "Sorry, Marni," he apologized. "I feel so weak." Cobramon then de-digivolved back to Snakemon.

"Are you okay, Snakemon?" Marni asked out of concern as she rushed to her Digimon's side.

"I think ssso," Snakemon muttered as he got up with Marni's help.

"Aww, man," Marni muttered out loud. "Greymon and Birdramon are the only ones left." The four kids and their Digimon watched cautiously as Mamemon's fists reconnected with his arms.

"Give up, Digi-Destined?" Mamemon asked.

"Dream on, Mamemon!" Tai shouted. "Go get him, Greymon!"

"Nova Blast!" Greymon shouted as he charged toward Mamemon.

"Sparkling Blow!" Mamemon shouted as he punched Greymon in the face, knocking him down to the ground.

"Greymon, no!" Tai shouted.

Mamemon then focused his attention on Birdramon, who was flying above him. "Smiley Bomb!" he shouted, throwing one of his bombs up at Birdramon. She tried to fly away before the bomb reached her, but unfortunately, the bomb exploded right below her, engulfing her in a cloud of smoke.

"No, Birdramon!" Sora cried out as she looked up at the cloud of smoke, along with Tai, Kari, Marni, Gatomon, and Snakemon.

Suddenly, a small figure fell from the cloud of smoke. Recognizing the figure as Biyomon, Sora reached out and caught her before she landed on the street.

"I'm so sorry, Sora," Biyomon mumbled weakly.

"It's okay, Biyomon," Sora told her. "What matters is that you're all right."

"Umm...you might wanna rethink that, Sora," Marni admitted nervously. Sora looked up and gasped when she saw Mamemon heading towards them.

"Greymon, you gotta digivolve!" Tai shouted to his Digimon, who had just gotten up. Greymon nodded in approval.

"Greymon digivolve to...Metal Greymon!"

"Whoa!" Marni gasped when she saw Greymon's newly digivolved form. He looked similar to Greymon, only he was over twice as big. His left arm was made of metal, the top of his head and his chest were covered with metal, and he had three pairs of long violet wings and long red-orange hair.

"Go get him, Metal Greymon!" Tai shouted.

"Ooo, I'm so scared!" Mamemon retorted as he turned around to face Metal Greymon. "Sparkling--"

"Mega Claw!" Metal Greymon shouted. His metal hand sprung out and struck Mamemon, sending him flying into the air.

"Giga Blaster!" Metal Greymon shouted. The metal plates on his chest opened up and two large missiles flew out.

"Ahh!" Mamemon screamed as the missiles flew straight at him. The missiles exploded as soon as they made contact with the Digimon, propelling him clearly to the other end of the city.

"That was so totally wicked, Tai!" Marni exclaimed.

"Gee, thanks, Marni," Tai admitted proudly.

"Just don't let it get to your head. It's big enough as it is," Marni joked.

Tai groaned loudly, while Sora and Biyomon giggled over Marni's joke. Just then, Metal Greymon was engulfed in a white light and de-digivolved. Marni was surprised that the Digimon sitting where Metal Greymon once stood was not Agumon, but a round pink head with long thin ears and bright brown eyes.

"Wait a minute. I've seen that Digimon somewhere before," Marni muttered out loud as Tai picked up the little Digimon. Marni suddenly gasped when she recalled seeing the same Digimon at the dunk booth game back at the Digi-Carnival.

"Hey, isn't that a Koromon?" Marni asked uncertainly.

"That's me!" Koromon admitted with a big grin.

"Come on, guys. We need to find the others before Mamemon does," Tai announced.

"But he's gone, Tai!" Marni reminded him.

"Mamemon may be gone for now, but he'll come back, and he won't be happy about what we did to him!" Tai told her.

"Tai's right," Sora agreed.

"We should leave this place, along with everyone else," Kari added.

"Okay, let's get going," Tai announced as he led the way...

"Do you see them yet, Yuuchi?" Zack shouted up into the trees right on the border of Mamemon City. For a minute, he didn't think Yuuchi could hear him up there.

"Not yet!" Yuuchi shouted. "I can see some of their Digimon! There's one that looks like Greymon, but he's huge!" A few minutes later, Yuuchi jumped off of a branch and landed in front of Zack, Cheetamon, and Nanmimon.

"They were over there," Yuuchi explained, pointing at the section of city north of them. "I guess that's where we should go."

"You know, you're gonna get yourself killed one of these days," Zack muttered disapprovingly, shaking his head. Yuuchi laughed out loud at that remark.

"What? You mean climbing trees? Nah! I've been doing it ever since I could walk. Well, at least that's what my dad said," Yuuchi admitted with a smirk. "Oh, yeah, I also saw a second Digimon that looked kind of like Garurumon."

"Greymon and Garurumon must have digivolved to Ultimate, like Kabuterimon did," Cheetamon explained.

"Hey, I bet you're right!" Yuuchi exclaimed.

"Wait up, you two!" Mimi shouted as she and Palmon joined them from the surrounding forest.

"Where have you been?" Zack asked.

"I had to use the little girls' room," Mimi reluctantly admitted. "Did you find anyone yet?" Yuuchi and Zack both reluctantly shook their heads no.

"It looks like the others are up that way," Yuuchi explained, pointing in the same direction as before.

"We better hurry! They might need our help!" Nanmimon announced.

"Yeah, let's go," Palmon added as the three kids and their Digimon quickly walked back into Mamemon City.

"Mimi, you've been with the others longer than we have. You probably know what their Digimon look like at Ultimate, right?" Zack asked.

"Yeah, that's true," Mimi admitted. "Why do you ask?"

"I saw a Digimon that kinda looked like Garurumon, only different, and another Digimon that kinda looked like Greymon, only with a metal arm and wings," Yuuchi told her.

"That was Metal Greymon and Were-Garurumon," Mimi explained.

"Hey, look! Isn't that them?" Zack asked curiously as he pointed at something in the distance. The three kids could see Tai, Matt, Kari, T.K., Sora, Marni, Marisa, Joe, and their Digimon running towards them.

"Hey, guys! Over here!" Zack shouted, waving his hands to get their attention, along with Mimi and Yuuchi. The seven kids and their Digimon joined Zack, Yuuchi, and Mimi and stopped for a few minutes to catch their breath.

"Are you guys okay?" Mimi asked.

"Yeah, just a little tired," Matt gasped in between breaths.

"Where's Izzy?" Sora asked when she noticed that Izzy wasn't with them.

"Last time we checked, he and Mega Kabuterimon were fighting Metal Mamemon," Yuuchi explained. As he looked up, he could see the familiar redhead boy running towards them.

"Hey, here he comes now!" Yuuchi shouted. As Izzy came closer, Yuuchi noticed that he was carrying a pink blob with short arms and round dark brown eyes.

"What happened, Izzy?" Tai asked.

"Unfortunately, Metal Mamemon was much more powerful than I anticipated, so we had to make a hasty retreat from the battle," Izzy explained.

"That's Tentomon, isn't it?" Zack asked a bit uncertainly.

"Well, not exactly. This is Motimon, Tentomon's In-Training form," Izzy explained.

"There you kids are!" a familiar voice shouted. The kids turned around and gasped when they saw Giromon, Metal Mamemon, and Mamemon surrounding them.

"Oh, great! Not this again!" Marni exclaimed. "You kids are in for it now!" Mamemon muttered angrily.

"He doesn't look too happy," Marisa admitted nervously, noticing the angry look on his face.

"Let's get them!" Metal Mamemon shouted.

The Digimon were about to attack when a familiar voice shouted, "Pixie Bomb!"

The Mamemon Brothers stopped in mid-attack, distracted by the bomb dropping in front of them and the explosion that followed. Suddenly, the Digi-Destined and their Digimon found themselves encased in a giant pink bubble, which lifted them far up in the air.

"Who did that?" Zack asked curiously.

"That was me, yep, yep," the same voice replied from behind them.

The twelve kids and their Digimon turned around to face whoever was talking to them. Marni, Marisa, Zack, and Yuuchi gasped when they saw the small dark pink Digimon with white wings, carrying a small gold staff.

"Whoa! It's a powder puff with wings!" Yuuchi exclaimed.

"No, it's Piximon!" Mimi exclaimed happily.

"Nice to see you all again, yep, yep!" Piximon replied.

"What are you doing here, Piximon?" Tai asked.

"I noticed you guys were in trouble, so I came to help you," Piximon replied as he looked up at Marni, Marisa, Zack, and Yuuchi. "And I've heard quite a bit about you four," he added.

Before Piximon could continue, the bubble shook violently, causing everyone to fall down.

"Oh, no! It's the Mamemon Brothers!" Sora gasped. The other Digi-Destined looked and noticed that Sora was right. Mamemon, Metal Mamemon, and Giromon were chasing after them, slowly catching up to the pink bubble.

"Looks like we don't have much time," Piximon muttered. "Listen up, you four. You need to find a way to help your Digimon digivolve to the next level."

"But, how can we, Piximon?" Zack asked curiously.

"We have no idea how to activate our crests, let alone know what they mean," Yuuchi added.

"That's something you'll have to figure out on your own," Piximon revealed. "Your friends here had to do the same thing a long time ago, and now it's your turn." Once again, Piximon was interrupted by the bubble shaking violently, this time from Giromon's Big Bang Boom attack.

"Man, this bubble of yours is taking a lot of punishment from those Mamemon Brothers, Piximon," Marni remarked. "I just hope it lasts."

"I'll distract the Mamemon Brothers while you get away," Piximon explained as he left the safety of the bubble. "Good luck to you."

With that, Piximon used his staff to fling the giant bubble a good distance away from the advancing Mamemon Brothers.

"They're getting away!" Metal Mamemon shouted, pointing at the retreating pink bubble.

"No kidding, Metal Mamemon," Mamemon retorted.

"What do we do now?" Giromon asked.

"I suggest you do nothing," Piximon interrupted. "There's nothing you can do to stop the Digi-Destined from saving the Digiworld from Armaggedamon."

"Oh, yeah? Just watch us!" Mamemon shouted. "Smiley Bomb!"

"Big Bang Boom!" Giromon shouted.

"Energetic Bomb!" Metal Mamemon shouted. The three attacks flew above Piximon's head and headed straight for the retreating bubble that was carrying the twelve Digi-Destined and their Digimon.

Yuuchi turned around and gasped loudly when he saw the three Mamemon Brothers' attacks flying straight at them. "You think this bubble can handle three attacks at once?" he asked nervously.

"I'm not exactly sure, Yuuchi. Why do you ask?" Izzy asked.

"Because we're about to find out for ourselves, that's why!" Yuuchi shouted.

The other kids looked up and gasped when they saw the two bombs and the orange ball of energy heading towards them.

"Brace yourselves, guys!" Tai shouted. The twelve kids and their Digimon sat down with their backs against the inside of the bubble and curled up to protect themselves.

The three attacks struck the giant bubble simultaneously. The kids and the Digimon screamed as they felt the bubble stretch out to its limit from the force of the explosions. Suddenly, they felt a quick rush of air and then absolutely nothing. Tai slowly opened his eyes and gasped when he noticed that he and Koromon were all alone in a pink bubble just big enough for the two of them.

"Oh, no!" Tai exclaimed as he looked down at the ground below, frantically searching for his friends. "Kari!" he shouted.

"Tai!" Kari shouted from his right.

Tai looked up was both surprised and relieved to see his sister and Gatomon floating in another pink bubble. Looking around even more, Tai realized that all of his friends and their Digimon were all encased in their own individual bubbles.

"How did this happen?" Zack asked, who was floating on Tai's left.

"The force of the explosion, it must have stretched out the bubble we were originally in to its maximum limit!" Izzy shouted, who was floating ahead of everyone else.

"But how did we end up in these smaller bubbles, Izzy?" Sora asked, who was floating right behind Izzy.

"The atmospheric pressure surrounding us must have sealed us off in these individual bubbles!" Izzy shouted loud enough for everyone to hear.

"What do we do now?" Marisa asked worriedly.

"Looks like the only thing we can do for now is wait until these bubbles pop on their own," Marni responded as she punched the side of her bubble a couple of times.

"But, what if these bubbles don't pop on their own? What if we're stuck in them forever?" Mimi whined.

"That can't happen!" Joe exclaimed.

"It won't happen, you guys," Matt announced. "We've been in one of Piximon's bubbles before, and we came out of it just fine."

"Are you sure, Matt?" T.K. asked worriedly.

"Don't worry, T.K. We'll be all right," Matt reassured his little brother.

"We're gonna have to try to stick together," Tai announced.

"Umm...is it just me, or is it getting louder all of a sudden?" Zack asked nervously. The twelve kids suddenly noticed that they were starting to slowly drift away from each other.

"It must be the wind! It's pulling us apart!" Izzy shouted. He was suddenly knocked down to the bottom of the bubble as a gust of wind blew him further away from the other kids.

"Izzy!" Sora shouted.

Suddenly, a huge blast of wind whirled like a tornado within the group of eleven kids. The children and their Digimon screamed as they quickly flew around in circles.

When the spinning finally stopped, Tai opened his eyes. He was shocked to see that he was now by himself. In the distance, Tai could see a few pink dots, but they were too far away to tell who were in those bubbles.

"Oh, no. We're all alone, Koromon," Tai whispered sadly to his Digimon as they continued to drift away from Mamemon City...TO BE CONTINUED


	9. DigiPranksters

FROM THE DEPTHS

**Part 9: Digi-Pranksters**

"We are so sorry, Armaggedamon," Mamemon apologized as he, Metal Mamemon, and Giromon stood in front of Armaggedamon's throne with their heads hung down.

"We did the best we could, sir," Giromon added a bit nervously.

"You call that your best?" Armaggedamon asked angrily, his eyes blazing a fiery red. "You allowed the Digi-Destined to escape, and now you'll pay the ultimate price for failure!"

A ball of black electricity formed in Armaggedamon's hand and he threw the ball at the Mamemon Brothers. The three Digimon screamed in horror and closed their eyes. After a few grueling minutes have passed with incident, they slowly opened their eyes.

To the Mamemon Brothers' surprise, they were surrounded by a large cage, which was constructed of the black electricity. Giromon cautiously reached out and grabbed one of the bars of the cage, but he ended up getting electrocuted in the process.

"Giromon, you idiot!" Metal Mamemon retorted as he and Mamemon helped Giromon up. Armaggedamon snickered sinisterly as he snapped his fingers. Instantly, the cage started to slowly shrink, with the Mamemon Brothers still in it.

"Please spare us, Armaggedamon!" Mamemon pleaded as the black electric bars came closer to him and his Digimon brothers.

"Give me one good reason why I should spare your miserable lives!" Armaggedamon retorted coldly.

"Because we separated the Digi-Destined!" Giromon shouted quickly.

Armaggedamon snapped his fingers again, causing the cage to stop shrinking just inches away from the three Mamemon Brothers. "What was that, Giromon?" he asked with slight interest.

"When those kids were trying to escape in Piximon's bubble, all three of us attacked the bubble at the same time with our bombs, and the weirdest thing happened," Giromon quickly explained as he recalled what had happened the previous day. "The bubble, it split apart into twelve smaller bubbles. Each bubble held one of those brats and their Digimon."

"Hmm..." Armaggedamon murmured thoughtfully as he picked up the walkie-talkie on his armrest. "Is this true, Cloakmon?" he asked Cloakmon, who had been listening to the entire conversation through the walkie-talkie.

"Yes, sir," Cloakmon confirmed. "The twelve children and their Digimon are no longer together."

"Perhaps I can use this to my advantage," Armaggedamon muttered thoughtfully. "Keep me posted, Cloakmon." He snapped his fingers once again, which caused the black electric cage that encased the Mamemon Brothers to disappear. Mamemon, Metal Mamemon, and Giromon all fell to their knees and gasped deeply for air.

"With the Digi-Destined separated from each other, it will be much easier to capture them all. Listen up!" Armaggedamon shouted to all of the evil Digimon in front of him. "I want you all to spread the word to all our Digimon allies: if any of them spot one of the Digi-Destined children, capture them on sight! This goes for everyone! However, do not destroy them. I want all twelve of them brought to me alive. If anyone is going to have the pleasure of destroying the Digi-Destined children, it's going to be me! Understand?"

"Yes, Armaggedamon, sir!" the evil Digimon inside the dark hallway chorused simultaneously. Armaggedamon chuckled evilly as his minions began to leave the hall to search for the Digi-Destined...

"Tai? Wake up, Tai!" Tai heard Koromon's voice shout. He slowly opened his eyes to see his Digimon sitting on his stomach with a big smile.

"Morning, Koromon," Tai muttered out loud as he sat up in the transparent pink bubble.

Ever since the other kids became separated from them the other day, Tai and Koromon had drifted far away from Mamemon City. Tai had tried to stay awake as long as he could, so he could see if he caught up with any of his friends, but he eventually succumbed and fell asleep. As he looked around, Tai realized that he and Koromon were floating above a dense forest.

"Aww, man!" Tai whispered worriedly as he looked down at the forest below him. "My friends and I have been separated before, but nothing like this has ever happened, Koromon!"

"Don't worry, Tai," Koromon assured his human friend. "We'll find everyone and defeat Armaggedamon together!"

"Yeah, you're right, Koromon," Tai replied with a small smile. "Nothing can go wrong now."

Suddenly, to their surprise, the bubble unexpectedly popped. Tai and Koromon screamed as they fell from the sky right into a tree. Tai landed on a branch and managed to catch Koromon.

"Well...I guess I can be wrong sometimes," Tai admitted with a nervous chuckle.

"Tai!" he heard a familiar voice shout from below him. Both Tai and Koromon looked down and were relieved to see Kari and Gatomon standing next to the tree.

"Kari!" Tai exclaimed happily as he slowly made his way down the tree, being careful not to drop Koromon. As soon as he reached the bottom, Tai hugged his little sister with one arm, while holding Koromon in the other arm.

"I was getting really worried about you, Kari. Are you okay?" Tai asked as he backed away a little bit.

"Yeah, Tai. I'm okay," Kari replied.

"What happened? How long have you two been on the ground?" Tai asked curiously.

"We're not exactly sure," Kari replied slowly.

"Huh?" Tai and Koromon exclaimed simultaneously.

"When we fell asleep last night, we were still in the bubble, but when we woke up this morning, we were lying on the ground," Gatomon explained. Tai let out a silent sigh of relief, glad that his sister didn't experience the rough landing that he and Koromon had a while ago.

"Let's go see if we can find any of our friends. Okay, Kari?" Tai asked.

"Okay," Kari agreed as they started walking down a worn dirt path. No sooner have they started walking then there was a loud grumbling noise coming from Koromon.

"Tai, I'm hungry!" the pink Digimon complained.

"I know you're hungry, Koromon," Tai replied. "You'll just have to wait till we can find something to eat."

Suddenly, there was another grumbling noise, only this time, it came from Tai. "Looks like I'm just as hungry as you are, Koromon!" Tai admitted as his face turned red with embarrassment.

"Don't worry, Tai. We can take care of that," Kari announced.

"What are you talking about, Kari?" Tai asked curiously.

"Just follow us!" Gatomon shouted as she and Kari ran ahead of Tai and Koromon.

"Hey, wait up!" Tai shouted as he ran after them. He found Kari and Gatomon standing under a small tree on the side of the path. Tai and Koromon looked up and practically drooled when they saw the small pale green melons hanging in the tree. As Tai put Koromon down so he could pick out some melons for them to eat, he noticed some melon rinds lying on the ground.

"When we woke up this morning, this was where we woke up," Kari explained. "We had just finished eating when we heard you two scream."

Tai nodded as he picked two of the melons from the tree. He split both of the fruits in half and laid two melon halves in front of Koromon. Tai and Koromon greedily ate the pieces of melon as though they haven't eaten in days, while Kari and Gatomon watched in amusement. In less than a minute, only the rinds were remaining.

"You want another one?" Tai asked his Digimon.

"No thanks, Tai. I'm stuffed!" Koromon openly admitted. To Tai and Kari's surprise, Koromon became engulfed in a familiar white light.

"Koromon digivolve to...Agumon."

"Hey, Agumon!" Tai greeted as he hugged his Digimon.

"I guess that food was all I needed to help me digivolve!" Agumon admitted with a toothy grin.

"Glad to have you back, Agumon," Kari admitted as Gatomon nodded in agreement.

"Okay!" Tai announced as he stood up. "Ready to go, guys?" Agumon, Kari, and Gatomon nodded as the three of them stood up and the foursome continued walking down the trail...

"Aww, man! This forest seems to go on forever!" Tai complained as he looked around. "We've been walking for hours, and we still haven't seen anything or anyone."

"You're right, Tai. We should have found someone by now," Agumon admitted. Suddenly, he started to sniff the air in front of him. "What's that smell?" he asked as he continued to sniff around.

"What do you mean?" Kari asked curiously.

"I recognize this smell! I think it's one of our friends," Agumon explained as he sniffed around some more.

"I thought dogs were the ones with strong noses, not reptiles!" Gatomon joked.

"It's T.K. and Patamon!" Agumon exclaimed. Tai, Kari, and Gatomon gasped when they heard this news.

"Are you sure?" Tai asked. Agumon quickly nodded his head.

"Which way, Agumon?" Gatomon asked.

"I think it's this way!" Agumon announced as he ran ahead of his friends.

"Wait for us, Agumon!" Tai shouted as he, Kari, and Gatomon chased after him.

Suddenly, Agumon was caught in a snare, which left him hanging upside-down in a nearby tree. "Help!" he shouted, trying frantically to get the rope off of his leg.

"Hold on, Agumon!" Gatomon shouted as she ran ahead to help him. She suddenly tripped over a thin wire and a net dropped down from the trees above her.

"Gatomon!" Kari shouted as she and Tai ran towards their Digimon. Suddenly, the ground beneath them gave way and they both fell into a deep hole, which had been concealed with sticks, dirt, and leaves.

"What is with all these traps?" Tai asked angrily to himself. "You'd think someone was purposely planting these traps." Tai quickly stood up and rubbed his head before he helped his sister get to her feet.

"Congratulations! You've won the grand prize!" an unfamiliar voice retorted sarcastically.

Tai and Kari gasped when they saw four small unfamiliar creatures staring down at them from around the hole. The new Digimon were no bigger than Gatomon and resembled gargoyles with small bat-like wings. Their scaly skin was olive green and their claws were deep maroon. In a way, the four Digimon reminded Tai of Ogremon.

Not knowing whether or not these Digimon were friendly, Tai asked cautiously, "Who are you?"

"We are Gremlimon," one of the Digimon replied.

"Are you good Digimon?" Kari asked uncertainly.

"That all depends," the same Gremlimon replied.

"On what?" Tai asked suspiciously.

"Oh, umm...never mind! Now come with us!"

"We have a couple of friends that would just love to meet you," another Gremlimon added.

"What makes you think we'll go anywhere with you?" Tai shouted.

"We'll show you why," a third Gremlimon told him as he turned around and waved his hand. Two more Gremlimon showed up by the edge of the hole, one holding a struggling Agumon and the other restraining a squirming Gatomon.

"Agumon!" Tai shouted.

"Gatomon!" Kari gasped.

Tai groaned slightly, knowing that he and Kari had no choice. "Fine, we'll go with you," he finally answered.

"No, don't, Tai!" Agumon protested as Tai helped Kari out of the hole before climbing out himself.

"Let's go, and no funny business!" a Gremlimon warned them as they started marching down the path. A few minutes later, the group approached a Digimon village that was inhabited with Gremlimon.

"Wow!" one of the several Gremlimon in the village exclaimed out of surprise as Tai, Kari, Agumon, Gatomon, and the six Gremlimon entered the village. "You got two of those kids! What are you gonna do with them?"

"We'll let our guest decide," one of the six Gremlimon replied. Tai gasped when he heard this unexpected news.

_Oh, no! I hope this 'guest' isn't one of Armaggedamon's hench-mon!_ Tai thought despairingly.

"This way!" one of the Gremlimon announced as they led the two kids and their Digimon towards a nearby hut.

As they started to enter the hut, one of the Gremlimon announced, "Oh, T.K.! We found some of your friends!" Tai, Kari, Agumon, and Gatomon gasped out of surprise when they saw T.K. and Patamon standing in the hut.

"T.K.!" Tai and Kari exclaimed simultaneously.

"Tai! Kari!" T.K. exclaimed happily as he ran forward and hugged Tai around his legs.

"How are you doing, T.K.?" Tai asked as he looked down at the little boy.

"Much better, now that you guys are here!" T.K. admitted with a big smile.

Tai looked back at the six Gremlimon that brought them into the hut. "How did you end up this place, T.K.?" he asked suspiciously. "Did these Gremlimon force you to come here?"

"No, they didn't," Patamon admitted.

"What do you mean?" Kari asked curiously.

"Well, Patamon and I were riding around in that pink bubble for what felt like forever," T.K. explained. "When we finally landed on the ground, the sun was going down. Patamon showed me a path, and we decided we would follow it. We kept walking until it started to get dark. I was getting tired, and so was Patamon. Just as we were about to fall asleep, we heard some noises ahead, and we found the Gremlimon village. They were scared of us at first, but I told them what had happened, and since Patamon and I were tired, I asked them if we could spend the night. The Gremlimon were very nice and let us stay. They even made us breakfast this morning!"

"They were very polite to us, and got us anything we needed," Patamon added.

"That's kinda hard to believe," Tai muttered out loud as he cautiously eyed the six Gremlimon that were standing in the hut with them.

"It's true, Tai," T.K. admitted.

"Yeah, it is," one of the Gremlimon confessed. "We like T.K. Actually, we like all children!"

"You do?" Kari asked. The six Gremlimon nodded their heads.

"Is that why you set up those traps, so you could catch us?" Tai asked suspiciously.

"No, of course not!" the same Gremlimon replied. "We're really sorry about that. We didn't mean any harm by it."

"Please let us make it up to you," a second Gremlimon added. "It's almost lunchtime. Would you like to stay and eat with us?"

Tai thought long and hard about the lunch invitation. He was still suspicious about the Gremlimon. For all he knew, their bizarre behavior was probably just a distraction to keep them in the Gremlimon village until one of Armaggedamon's hench-mon could arrive. Then again, it has been a while since Tai, Kari, Agumon, and Gatomon had anything to eat.

_If this does turn out to be a trap, our Digimon should have no problem fighting off all these Gremlimon, especially when they digivolve,_ Tai thought to himself.

"Tai?" T.K. asked loudly, interrupting Tai from his thoughts.

"Yeah, T.K.?" Tai asked.

"Is it okay if we stay for lunch?" T.K. asked.

"Yeah, I guess so," Tai answered.

"This way, everyone," the third Gremlimon announced as he and the five other Gremlimon led the three kids and their Digimon out of the hut towards a small tower in the center of the village...

"We're really sorry about the way we treated you guys before," one of the Gremlimon apologized as he handed Tai a platter of sandwiches.

Tai nodded slowly as he took a sandwich from the platter and set it down so T.K., Kari, Agumon, Patamon, and Gatomon could help themselves.

"We didn't mean to sound so mean, but we didn't think you'd be willing to come with us since you all fell into our traps," another Gremlimon added.

"That's another thing I've been meaning to ask you about. What's with all of those traps?" Tai asked curiously.

"They're for protection," the third Gremlimon admitted. "Despite the way we look, we don't like to fight. We normally don't have a lot of traps so close together, like the ones we found you four in, but we didn't really have much of a choice."

"Why not?" Kari asked curiously.

"Well, you see...for a couple of days now, there have been some Digimon going past our village," the fourth Gremlimon hesitantly confessed.

"They've been asking about the Digi-Destined children," the fifth Gremlimon added.

"Those Digimon must work for Armaggedamon!" Agumon exclaimed.

"That was our guess," the sixth Gremlimon admitted. "Truth is...one of them came around late last night, while T.K. and Patamon were asleep in one of our huts!" T.K. and Patamon gasped loudly when they heard this news.

"Don't worry, T.K. We didn't tell him anything about you," the same Gremlimon assured T.K. and Patamon.

"Weren't you guys scared?" T.K. asked curiously.

"Uh-huh," the six Gremlimon replied simultaneously, nodding their heads.

"He threatened us," the first Gremlimon sadly admitted. "He said that if he found out we were lying, he would flatten our village and make us into Armaggedamon's slaves!"

"That's just terrible!" Kari replied.

"Who is this Digimon that you guys are talking about?" Tai asked curiously.

Before any of the Gremlimon could answer him, there was a loud, distant rumbling noise. The ground shook violently, causing everyone to fall down.

"Oh, no! Golemon's back!" one of the Gremlimon shouted a bit fearfully.

"Who's Golemon?" Tai asked as he helped Kari and T.K. stand up.

"Just take a look for yourselves," the same Gremlimon announced as he got out of the way of a small window.

Tai, Kari, and T.K. cautiously approached the window and looked through it. Just outside of the village, they could see a huge rock Digimon, about the size of Metal Greymon, slowly approaching the village. He looked as though he was made from boulders that were somehow linked together. His face and hands looked as though they had been chiseled.

"He looks bad!" Tai commented.

"He is! Believe me!" a second Gremlimon admitted. "The only Digimon scarier than Golemon is Armaggedamon!"

"What are we going to do?" Kari asked worriedly.

"You guys have gotta leave. If Golemon finds you, who knows what he's gonna do to you!" the third Gremlimon exclaimed in a hushed whisper, so Golemon wouldn't hear him.

"How can we get out of here?" Tai whispered.

"You can go through the back," the fourth Gremlimon whispered as he pulled back a tarp hanging on the back wall, revealing a secret exit.

"But, what about Golemon?" T.K. asked.

"We'll distract him, so don't worry!" the fifth Gremlimon assured T.K. "Now go, you guys!"

As five of the Gremlimon headed out the front door, the same Gremlimon that moved the tarp ushered Tai, Kari, T.K., and their Digimon out the back door and led them to a forest behind the village.

"The fastest way to get out of here is by train," Gremlimon revealed. "There's a train station nearby. If you just keep following this trail, it'll lead you right to the station."

"Do you know who drives the train, Gremlimon?" Tai asked.

"Well, I don't know him personally, but my friends and I have heard that he's a friend of Gennai, so you should be safe with him," Gremlimon admitted.

"Thank you, Gremlimon!" T.K. replied.

"Yeah. You and your friends helped us out a lot," Kari admitted.

"Don't worry about it! Just get going, and please save our world!" Gremlimon proclaimed.

"We'll try not to let you down, Gremlimon," Tai told the little Digimon.

Before the three kids and their Digimon could continue down the path, a deep gravely voice shouted, "You're not going anywhere!"

Tai, Kari, T.K., Agumon, Gatomon, Patamon, and Gremlimon turned around and gasped when they saw Golemon steadily approaching them. Each step the massive Digimon took caused the earth to shake violently, like a mini-earthquake.

"No way! How did he follow us?" Gremlimon asked out of complete shock.

"You must be kidding me, little Gremlimon. I could see you leaving from miles away," Golemon announced with a deep-throated chuckle.

"Come on, you guys!" Agumon shouted as he, Patamon, and Gatomon ran towards Golemon. "Agumon digivolve to...Greymon!"

"Patamon digivolve to...Angemon!"

"Gatomon digivolve to...Angewomon!"

"Nova Blast!" Greymon shouted, spitting out a massive fireball at Golemon.

"You show him, Greymon!" Tai cheered on his Digimon.

"Hand of Fate!" Angemon shouted.

"Celestial Arrow!" Angewomon shouted. All three attacks combined struck Golemon, but he barely even moved an inch.

"No way!" T.K. gasped loudly.

"That didn't even leave a scratch on him!" Tai exclaimed.

"Umm, did I forget to mention that Golemon's a Mega Digimon?" Gremlimon asked uncertainly.

"What?" Tai, Kari, and T.K. exclaimed loudly out of shock.

"Uh...I guess not," Gremlimon admitted with a nervous chuckle.

"Just great!" Tai muttered. "There's no way we can beat him now!"

"Well, you don't exactly need to beat him to escape," Gremlimon admitted.

"What do you mean?" Kari asked curiously.

"Although Golemon is very strong, he's very heavy and kinda slow. You probably noticed that it took him a long time to catch up with us. Anyway, if you can knock Golemon on his back, it'll take almost forever for him to get back up!"

"So, all we have to do is knock Golemon on his back, and he won't be able to follow us?" Tai asked curiously.

"He'll be too busy trying to get back up to follow you guys!" Gremlimon openly admitted.

"All right, then. Greymon, Angemon, Angewomon! You gotta knock Golemon on his back!" Tai shouted to the three Digimon.

Greymon nodded in approval as he charged towards Golemon. "Nova Blast!" he shouted. The massive fireball struck Golemon, but it didn't even singe him.

"That didn't even tingle!" Golemon boasted. He punched Greymon in the stomach, knocking the Champion Digimon on his back.

"Come on, Greymon! You gotta get up!" Tai shouted. Greymon growled a bit out of pain as he slowly stood up.

"Now it's my turn, Digi-Destined. Rock Slide!" Golemon shouted. He lifted his arms above his head, and massive boulders came flying out of nowhere and headed straight for the three Digimon. Greymon managed to avoid the jagged slabs of rock, but unfortunately, two of the boulders struck both Angemon and Angewomon head-on and pinned them against the ground.

"Angemon!" T.K. shouted.

"Oh, no! Angewomon!" Kari cried out.

"Hold on, you two!" Greymon shouted as he quickly turned around and pushed the boulders off of his Digimon friends, using all of his remaining strength. From the looks of Angemon and Angewomon, it was obvious that they were unable to battle. Just then, the two angel-type Digimon de-digivolved to Patamon and Gatomon.

"Are you okay, Patamon?" T.K. shouted. Patamon slowly nodded as he managed to fly into T.K.'s waiting arms.

"Gatomon? How are you doing?" Kari asked with concern as the cat-type Digimon slowly stood up.

"Good thing I got eight more lives left," Gatomon muttered out loud.

Gatomon looked up and gasped when she realized that Golemon was about to strike Greymon from behind. "Look out, Greymon!" she shouted in warning. Greymon turned around, only to be knocked down to the ground by Golemon's heavy fists.

_If I don't do something soon, Greymon's gonna be seriously hurt!_ Tai thought as he watched the fight. He slowly curled up his fist and gathered some courage from within.

"Get ready to run," Tai muttered out loud to his friends.

"Hey, you! Yeah, you, the slowest monster in the Digiworld! If you don't like that, then come and get me!" Tai shouted boldly as he, Kari, T.K., Gatomon, Patamon, and Gremlimon started to run. Golemon growled angrily and ignored Greymon as he started to walk as fast as he could after the kids. Greymon saw what was going on and gathered some of the courage from his friend, Tai.

"Greymon digivolve to...Metal Greymon!"

"Hey, you ugly pile of rocks! Where do you think you're going? I'm not done with you yet!" Metal Greymon shouted as he ran after Golemon. "Mega Claw!" Metal Greymon's metal claw sprung out and struck Golemon in the back.

"You had better quit! That's not going to work on me!" Golemon growled angrily.

"Oh, yeah? Try this on for size! Giga Blaster!" Metal Greymon shouted as he released two missiles out of his chest. The impact of the exploding missiles caused Golemon to fall on his back. He attempted to get up, but it was impossible for him.

"Way to go, Metal Greymon!" Kari cheered as Tai and T.K. nodded approvingly. Metal Greymon chuckled deeply before he started to glow and de-digivolve to Koromon.

"Good job, Koromon. Now let's get out of here before he gets back up!" Tai announced as he picked up the little pink Digimon.

T.K, Kari, Patamon, and Gatomon nodded as they ran down the path that would eventually lead them to the train station.

"Thank you for everything, Gremlimon! We won't forget you!" Kari shouted back to the Gremlimon, who had stayed behind.

"Aww, thanks! You kids take care of yourselves! Just remember, you're always welcome in our village!" Gremlimon shouted.

"If you see any of our friends, can you tell them we're looking for them?" Tai asked.

"No problem, Tai!" Gremlimon agreed.

"See ya, Gremlimon! Thanks for all the good food!" T.K. shouted as the three kids and their Digimon walked out of Gremlimon and Golemon's sight...TO BE CONTINUED


	10. A Wolf in Digimon's Clothing

FROM THE DEPTHS

**Part 10: A Wolf in Digimon's Clothing**

"T.K.! Tai! Kari! Sora! Izzy!" Matt shouted as he slowly walked down a dirt path, carrying Tsunomon in his arms. He stifled a quick yawn before he continued.

"Joe! Mimi! Yuuchi! Zack! Marni! Marisa! Can anyone hear me?"

Matt was quiet for a few moments, hoping to hear a response from someone, but he was met by complete silence in the fog-filled forest surrounding him.

"Matt, maybe we should stop and rest for a while," Tsunomon suggested as Matt stopped walking and rubbed his eyes.

"We can't stop now, Tsunomon," Matt muttered out loud, trying his best not to sound tired. "Besides, I'm not tired." Just then, Matt let out a long yawn.

"Come on, Matt! You gotta get some sleep! You know you can't keep going like this!" Tsunomon pleaded.

"All right, Tsunomon," Matt reluctantly agreed. "We'll find a place to spend the night, okay?"

"Okay!" Tsunomon agreed as Matt continued walking down the path, still carrying the little orange Digimon. They eventually left the forest and entered a small clearing.

"That could be a good place to spend the night," Matt announced as he pointed at a building off the side of the trail, blanketed by the thick fog. Tsunomon squinted his eyes and recognized the building as an old run-down church, with a large spooky cemetery next to it.

"What do you think, Tsunomon?" Matt asked.

"I don't know about this, Matt. That place looks kinda creepy," Tsunomon admitted.

"You're right about that, but where else can we go?" Matt asked groggily. Tsunomon looked up at Matt's eyes and could see how exhausted his human friend was.

"Well...I guess it's better than sleeping outside," Tsunomon reluctantly agreed.

"Okay, let's go inside," Matt suggested with a quick yawn as he and Tsunomon started to head towards the old church. They had not even taken more than three steps when the two friends heard a strange, eerie moan coming from somewhere in the cemetery.

"What was that?" Matt asked a bit nervously.

"I don't know," Tsunomon replied, trying his best not to sound scared.

Suddenly, Matt and Tsunomon were startled to see eighteen Bakemon pop up from behind the several stone tombstones scattered about the cemetery.

"Yup, this place is definitely creepy!" Tsunomon shouted as Matt tried to make a run for it. Unfortunately, he and Tsunomon found themselves surrounded by the group of Bakemon.

"Ready, boys?" one of the Bakemon asked sinisterly.

"Let's get them!" a second Bakemon shouted as the eighteen Bakemon closed in on Matt and Tsunomon.

Tsunomon let out an angry little growl as he jumped out of Matt's arms. "Tsunomon digivolve to...Gabumon."

"Blue Blaster!" Gabumon shouted. The blast of blue energy struck down a couple of the Bakemon, but it didn't stop the others from advancing towards them.

"Blue Blaster!" Gabumon shouted again, releasing another blue blast at the group of Bakemon.

"There's too many of them, Gabumon!" Matt shouted. Before the Bakemon could attack Matt and Gabumon, they all heard a strange distant shriek.

"Oh, no! It's Bansheemon!" one of the Bakemon shouted nervously. "Let's get outta here!" The eighteen Bakemon collided with each other as they all tried to fly away at the same time.

"What could have scared those Bakemon so badly?" Matt asked uncertainly after all of the Bakemon left.

"That could be the reason why!" Gabumon gasped loudly as he pointed at a glowing white figure in the distance that was floating towards them.

Matt looked up and was surprised to see that the ghost-type Digimon looked like a human. She was wearing a flowing white dress that was tattered and torn around the edges of the skirt and sleeves. Her long white hair went down to her waist. As the Digimon came closer to Matt and Gabumon, they noticed that her eyes were a chilling ice blue. The Digimon also had a nasty-looking expression on her face.

Matt and Gabumon gasped as the Digimon turned her head and looked straight at them. They were about ready to run for it, like the Bakemon before them, when the Digimon shouted, "Wait! Don't go!"

Matt and Gabumon looked back at the ghost-type Digimon and noticed that the nasty expression that was on her face was replaced with a gentler, more concerned look.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you," the Digimon apologized. "I was just trying to scare away those troublesome Bakemon."

"Thanks a lot!" Gabumon admitted.

"Who are you?" Matt asked uncertainly.

"I am Bansheemon," the ghost-type Digimon introduced herself. "You're one of the Digi-Destined children, am I right?"

"Yeah, I am," Matt answered reluctantly. "How did you know?"

"Everyone in the Digiworld knows of the legendary Digi-Destined," Bansheemon revealed. "You and your friends have come here once before and defeated our greatest enemies. Now, you're back again to defeat Armaggedamon. Tell me, what is your name?"

Matt hesitated for a moment. He wasn't sure whether or not he could trust Bansheemon, since he never heard of her before. But then again, Bansheemon did save him and Gabumon from the Bakemon.

"My name's Matt," Matt finally answered.

"A pleasure to meet you, Matt," Bansheemon admitted. She looked into Matt's blue eyes and noticed how drained he looked.

"You look very tired, Matt. Would you like to come inside and get some sleep?" Bansheemon offered. "I have plenty of room inside the church, where I live."

"All right," Matt agreed, letting out another sleepy yawn. "It'd be nice not to have to sleep on the ground tonight."

"Follow me," Bansheemon instructed as she led Matt and Gabumon into the church. She led them down the main sanctuary towards a hallway in back of the church. As the threesome walked down the hall, both Matt and Gabumon saw a door on their left that was slightly open a crack.

"What's that room for?" Gabumon asked as they passed it.

"Oh, that's just my room," Bansheemon explained. When they approached a second door, Bansheemon opened it for Matt and Gabumon. It was a small room with a bed in the middle and a dresser against the wall.

"If you're hungry, the kitchen is right across the hall from your bedroom. Feel free to help yourselves to whatever you want," Bansheemon told Matt and Gabumon as she started to leave the room.

"Thank you, Bansheemon," Gabumon admitted.

"Umm, Bansheemon?" Matt asked as a question popped into his head. She turned around to look at him.

"Have you seen any other kids besides me in the past couple of days?" Matt asked curiously.

"No, I'm afraid not, but if I do see any of your friends, I'll let them know that you were here," Bansheemon assured him.

"Thanks, Bansheemon," Matt admitted with a look of gratitude on his face.

"I'll leave you two alone so you can get some sleep," Bansheemon continued as she left the small bedroom. "Good night," she whispered as she closed the door behind her.

As the ghost-type Digimon drifted down the hall, she chuckled sinisterly to herself. "What a foolish boy this one is," Bansheemon muttered to herself as she entered her room...

"Are you okay, Marisa?" Chamelamon asked her human friend, who was walking a bit sluggishly.

"I'm really tired, Chamelamon. Can we please stop and rest for a while?" Marisa asked.

"Okay, no problem," Chamelamon agreed.

Marisa instantly dropped down to the ground and let out a deep sigh, leaning her back against a tree along the path they had been following. Chamelamon slowly crawled into Marisa's lap and let out a quick yawn.

"How much longer is it going to take until we reach that abandoned church you told me about?" Marisa asked curiously.

"It'll just take a few more minutes, Marisa," Chamelamon told her. "It'll be safer for us to sleep inside the church than out here in the open."

"I definitely agree with you about that," Marisa muttered nervously, looking around at the fog-filled forest surrounding them. "Who knows what bad Digimon are out there in the woods looking for us!"

"Don't worry, Marisa. If any bad Digimon tries to hurt you, they're gonna have to go through me first!" Chamelamon proclaimed.

"You're so brave, Chamelamon," Marisa admitted with a small smile as she hugged her Digimon. "I wish I could be as brave as you."

"You're pretty brave yourself, Marisa," Chamelamon told her. "Remember when you stood up to Minotaurmon? That took a lot of guts to do that!"

"Who knows? Maybe I have the crest of Bravery!" Marisa remarked as she took out her tag and stared at the strange symbol on her forest green crest for a few moments. "But then again, Bravery means the same thing as Courage, and that's Tai's crest."

Marisa let out a long frustrated sigh. "I wish I knew what this crest meant! Then you'll be able to digivolve to Ultimate, Chamelamon."

"There's no need to rush, Marisa," Chamelamon assured her human friend. "We'll figure this out together."

"I hope so, Chamelamon," Marisa murmured thoughtfully as she put her tag back underneath her shirt. "You ready to go?"

"Uh-huh," Chamelamon nodded as she got out of Marisa's lap. Marisa stood up, stretched out her arms, and continued walking down the path, with Chamelamon walking alongside her. A few minutes later, the two friends approached a fork in the path.

"Which way, Chamelamon?" Marisa asked.

"The church is to the left," Chamelamon replied. When they reached the turn in the path, Marisa looked down and noticed some marks in the packed dirt.

"Chamelamon, look!" Marisa whispered excitedly as she bent down to take a closer look.

"They're tracks! One of our friends must have gone by here!" Chamelamon exclaimed.

"Yeah, but who knows how long these tracks have been here," Marisa muttered disappointingly.

"No way! These tracks are fresh!" Chamelamon revealed. "Whoever it was, they must have passed here a few hours ago, at least."

"Yeah, but who could it be?" Marisa asked.

"Someone who was wearing boots," Chamelamon reported as she carefully examined the tracks.

"Let's see...which one of our friends wears boots?" Marisa asked herself as she tried to recall who wore boots. She gasped slightly when she remembered one boy in particular who was wearing boots the last time she saw him.

"Matt wears boots!" Marisa exclaimed happily, her eyes lighting up and her cheeks turning a slight shade of red at the thought of running into him.

_Oh, great! Anyone but Matt!_ Chamelamon thought angrily to herself as she looked up at Marisa. _I don't see why Marisa likes that guy! Matt's been such a jerk to her!_

"Umm...Marisa? Are you sure Matt's the only who wears boots?" Chamelamon asked out loud, bringing Marisa back to reality.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Mimi wears boots, too," Marisa muttered a bit disappointingly.

"So, it could be Mimi," Chamelamon replied cheerfully.

"Yeah, I guess," Marisa muttered as she stood up. "Let's see if we can find whoever it is."

"Yeah, let's go!" Chamelamon added as she and Marisa turned left at the fork and continued walking down the path. They haven't gone far down the path when Marisa's digivice went off.

"Chamelamon, look! Whoever it is must be nearby!" Marisa whispered excitedly as she took the digivice off of her shorts.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Chamelamon asked. The two friends ran down the path, following the directions form Marisa's digivice. Marisa and Chamelamon suddenly stopped when they noticed the old church with the cemetery next to it.

"According to this, our friends are inside that church!" Marisa explained as she checked her digivice.

"Let's go inside," Chamelamon suggested as she started to walk to the church. She turned around and realized that Marisa wasn't following her. She was still standing on the trail, staring at the creepy fog-filled cemetery.

"Marisa, what's wrong?" Chamelamon asked.

"N-Nothing, Chamelamon," Marisa stuttered nervously. "It's just...it's just that cemeteries give me the creeps!"

"It's okay, Marisa," Chamelamon tried to convince her as she rejoined Marisa on the trail. "There's nothing to be afraid of."

Just then, Marisa and Chamelamon heard a couple of strange voices coming closer to them. They looked up the trail and gasped when they recognized the two ghost-type Digimon floating down the trail towards them.

"Bakemon!" Marisa gasped.

"Quick, behind here!" Chamelamon whispered quickly as she ran behind a large tree on the side of the trail.

Marisa quickly joined her Digimon behind the tree before the Bakemon could see them. The two Digimon stopped in front of the very tree that Marisa and Chamelamon were hiding behind.

"It was MY acting that fooled the kid in the first place," the first Bakemon bragged loudly. He cleared his throat for a moment and shouted out in a convincing frightened voice, " 'Oh, no! It's Bansheemon! Let's get outta here!' " The Bakemon chuckled a little bit out of pride.

"Don't forget! Your so-called acting is just a small part of Bansheemon's plan," the other Bakemon reminded him. "When sunrise comes around, that boy and his Gabumon will be shipped off to Lord Armaggedamon!" The two Bakemon began to laugh evilly.

"Oh, no!" Marisa gasped a bit too loudly.

"Did you hear that?" the first Bakemon asked as he stopped laughing and looked around. Marisa quickly covered her mouth with her hands, praying silently that the Bakemon wouldn't find her and Chamelamon.

"It was probably just the wind. Nothing to worry about," the other Bakemon told him. "Come on, we better get back to our posts before Bansheemon lets us have it!"

"All right," the first Bakemon agreed as they continued floating down the trail. As soon as the two Bakemon left Marisa and Chamelamon's sight, Marisa brought her hands down and let out a huge sigh of relief.

"That doesn't sound good," Chamelamon admitted.

"We gotta let Matt and Gabumon know what's going on," Marisa admitted as she stood up. As the two friends headed to the church, Marisa asked her Digimon, "Do you know anything about Bansheemon?"

"Not much," Chamelamon admitted. "She's an Ultimate ghost-type Digimon. Bansheemon's attack is Wailing Shriek. She lets out a terrible scream that can shatter glass and even bend steel!"

Marisa and Chamelamon stopped at the tall, heavy wooden double-doors of the church. Marisa took in a deep breath before she slowly pushed one of the doors open a little bit, revealing the main sanctuary with its two rows of long wooden benches. As Marisa continued to push the door, the rusted antique hinges suddenly let out a loud squeaky moan.

Marisa gasped when she heard the loud moan and quickly let go of the door. "Do you think anyone heard that?" she asked nervously.

"I don't know," Chamelamon whispered. Just then, Marisa and Chamelamon heard a strange noise coming from a hallway in back of the sanctuary.

"Then again, maybe someone did hear us!" Chamelamon admitted nervously. The two girls quickly ran to the bench that was closest to the door. They had just ducked down behind it when they saw a glowing white figure floating down the aisle in between the two rows of benches.

"It's Bansheemon!" Chamelamon whispered softly so that Bansheemon couldn't hear her.

Marisa nodded silently as she carefully peeked over the top of the bench to see what Bansheemon was doing. She watched as the ghost-type Digimon floated toward the open door. Bansheemon studied the open door for a moment before she closed it.

"I ought to get this old thing fixed," Bansheemon muttered to herself as she turned around and headed back to the aisle.

As Bansheemon floated down the aisle, Marisa and Chamelamon slowly crawled down the narrow space between the benches toward the aisle. Marisa slowly stuck her head out in the aisle and watched as Bansheemon drifted into the hallway in the back of the church.

"Matt and Gabumon must be back there somewhere," Marisa whispered to Chamelamon as they stood up in the aisle.

"There's only one way to find out," Chamelamon whispered.

Marisa nervously nodded in approval as she and Chamelamon gradually walked to the entrance of the back hall. They entered the hall just in time to see Bansheemon enter the first room on the left.

"Be very quiet, Chamelamon," Marisa whispered softly as she and her Digimon slowly crept past Bansheemon's room. As soon as they were a good distance away from Bansheemon's room, Marisa spotted two doors across the hall from each other.

"Which one could they be in?" Chamelamon asked.

"Let's try this one," Marisa suggested, pointing at the door to the left. She grabbed the doorknob and slowly opened the door. Marisa gasped slightly when she noticed a small figure lying on the bed in the dark bedroom.

"Who's that?" Chamelamon asked curiously as Marisa squinted her eyes so she could see the figure better.

"It looks like...I think it's Gabumon!" Marisa whispered. The two girls didn't notice a dark figure slowly approaching them from behind.

"But, if Gabumon's in there, then where's Matt?" Chamelamon asked.

"I don't know," Marisa whispered.

Suddenly, the two friends noticed a long dark shadow coming from someone standing behind them. Marisa froze still like a statue, too afraid to move or speak. Slowly but surely, Marisa turned around to face the figure standing behind her. She gasped loudly out of surprise when she saw who it was.

"Matt!" Marisa exclaimed in a hushed voice, trying her best to hide her excitement.

"Marisa? Chamelamon?" Matt asked, a bit startled to see the pig-tailed girl and her Digimon standing right in front of him in the middle of the night. Matt was even more surprised when Marisa suddenly embraced him.

"I can't believe this!" Marisa gushed out in a hushed whisper. "I was getting worried that I wouldn't find anyone! I'm so glad that I found you!"

"Yeah, umm...same here," Matt stuttered a bit nervously. Just then, Marisa realized what she was doing at that very moment.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Matt," Marisa quickly apologized as she let go of Matt, her cheeks turning red from embarrassment. "I'm just so happy that I finally found someone."

"Yeah, you kinda made that obvious," Matt remarked.

"What's going on, Matt?" Gabumon asked drowsily as he slowly entered the hallway. He stopped and gasped out of surprise when he saw Marisa and Chamelamon standing in the hallway with Matt.

"Marisa! Chamelamon! When did you two get here?" Gabumon asked.

"Just a few minutes ago, Gabumon," Marisa replied.

"Yeah, but now that you're awake, let's get outta here," Chamelamon suggested.

"What for?" Matt asked curiously. "Bansheemon said it was all right with her to spend the night here."

Marisa looked down at the floor, a bit fearful to tell Matt the truth. "Umm...Matt? There's something you need to know about Bansheemon," Marisa eventually got out.

"What do you mean?" Matt asked curiously.

"Well, I don't know how to tell you this, Matt, but..." Marisa trailed off.

"But what?" Matt prodded.

"Bansheemon works for Armaggedamon!" Marisa stuttered quickly. Both Matt and Gabumon gasped when they heard this news.

"Are you sure?" Gabumon asked.

"Uh-huh. We overheard a couple of Bakemon talking outside," Chamelamon explained. "They were talking about how Bansheemon tricked you into thinking that she was a good Digimon, but the truth is, it was just a trap so she could ship you guys off to Armaggedamon in the morning!"

"I don't believe this," Matt muttered out loud.

"I'm sure it's kinda hard to believe after what you've been through," Marisa admitted.

"Marisa, what makes you think that I'm the one being tricked here?" Matt asked.

"What do you mean, Matt?" Marisa asked a bit uncertainly.

"Maybe those Bakemon knew you were there the whole time and made up all that stuff about Bansheemon," Matt revealed, getting a little impatient with Marisa.

"But why would they do something like that?" Marisa asked curiously.

"Maybe they wanted Bansheemon to look like the bad Digimon, okay?" Matt retorted a bit rudely, staring at the floor the whole time.

"Yeah, right," Chamelamon retorted. "Bakemon aren't THAT smart!"

"That's a lot of maybes, Matt," Marisa admitted. "Are you sure about this? Why don't you come with us and--"

"Will you just stop it with all these lies, Marisa?" Matt interrupted with anger in his voice.

Marisa was obviously very hurt by Matt's angry remark. She could feel tears filling up her eyes and slowly running down her face.

"Why don't you trust me, Matt?" Marisa demanded, her voice quivering from her crying.

Matt looked up and immediately regretted what he said earlier when he saw Marisa's tear-stained face.

"Marisa, I..."

Matt found himself at a loss for words. He wasn't used to dealing with such a sensitive person before. Matt had no problem dealing with T.K.'s emotional outbursts, since T.K. was his little brother and he was used to it. Matt also had no problem with Sora that one time she broke down and bawled her eyes out. But Sora was a different matter. Matt knew that he wasn't the reason that Sora became upset that day.

Marisa was watching Matt the whole time, who was staring out into empty space with a strange look in his eyes.

_Why doesn't he answer me?_ Marisa thought angrily to herself. Not being able to take it anymore, Marisa turned around and ran down the hall back toward the main sanctuary of the church, with tears still running down her face.

"Marisa, come back!" Chamelamon shouted, which quickly brought Matt back to reality. He looked up and was surprised to see Marisa leaving the hallway, with Chamelamon running after her.

"Gabumon, what happened?" Matt asked uncertainly.

"Marisa got upset that you wouldn't answer her and left," Gabumon replied.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt her," Matt whispered sincerely.

"I know you didn't mean it, Matt, but I don't think I'm the one you should be telling that to," Gabumon told his human friend.

Matt looked at his Digimon and nodded in approval. "You're right, Gabumon," he admitted. "Let's go find Marisa."

As the two boys headed down the hallway, Matt noticed that Bansheemon's door was open a crack. As they walked past the door, both Matt and Gabumon clearly heard Bansheemon say, "Of course, Lord Armaggedamon."

Becoming suspicious, Matt and Gabumon crept up to the door and peeked in through the crack. Bansheemon was sitting on a chair, talking into a black walkie-talkie, just like the ones they had seen some of Armaggedamon's hench-mon use before.

"My plan worked so perfectly, Lord Armaggedamon! Thanks to the Bakemon, Matt thinks that I'm a good Digimon! It convinced him very easily!" Bansheemon bragged.

"Is he suspicious of anything?" Armaggedamon asked through the walkie-talkie.

"No, not at all, sir! He's sleeping in the other room at this very moment," Bansheemon answered.

"Excellent work, Bansheemon. I knew I could rely on you," Armaggedamon admitted. "Now, explain to me how you plan to bring this 'Matt' to me."

"It's actually quite simple, Lord Armaggedamon. Tomorrow morning, I'll wake up Matt and tell him that one of his friends has arrived," Bansheemon explained. "I'll lead him and the Gabumon into the sanctuary, where the Bakemon will be waiting for us in ambush. When I give the signal, the Bakemon will come out of hiding and tie them up faster than you can say 'Armaggedamon!' "

"Did you hear that?" Matt whispered as he and Gabumon took a few steps back from the door.

"Marisa was right about Bansheemon the whole time!" Gabumon gasped.

"Yeah, and I just called her a liar right to her face," Matt muttered out loud.

"Come on, Matt. If we hurry, we might catch up to them," Gabumon suggested.

"Okay, Gabumon," Matt replied as they entered the sanctuary.

To their surprise, Matt and Gabumon heard soft sobbing coming from up ahead. The two boys looked up and gasped slightly when they saw Marisa sitting on the front bench with her head bent down.

"It's okay, Marisa. Please stop crying," Chamelamon whispered comfortingly to her friend. Matt felt even more guilt-ridden than before. He shamefully stared down at the floor.

"Come on, Matt. She's right over there," Gabumon whispered, pointing at Marisa.

"I...I can't," Matt whispered.

"Why not?" Gabumon asked.

"I just can't, Gabumon," Matt replied in a low whisper, shaking his head.

"Yes, you can, and you will," Gabumon replied as he grabbed Matt by the arm and dragged him down the aisle to where Marisa and Chamelamon were sitting. Marisa looked up for a moment when she heard Matt and Gabumon coming, but she quickly turned around and lowered her head down again.

"What do you want?" Chamelamon asked rudely as Matt and Gabumon stopped next to her and Marisa.

"Matt has something he wants to say. Right, Matt?" Gabumon asked as he gently nudged Matt in the ribs.

"Umm...right," Matt replied as he looked over at Marisa, who was staring down at her lap.

"Marisa, I'm really sorry about yelling at you like that," Matt apologized. "I never meant to hurt your feelings." Matt noticed that Marisa was still looking down at her lap.

"Look, I'll understand if you don't feel like talking to me at all, after the way I treated you earlier," Matt admitted. "Do you think that maybe we can put this aside and start over?"

"Why should she, Matt?" Chamelamon asked angrily. "Marisa was happy to see you until you yelled at her and hurt her feelings! I would be very surprised if she forgave you at all!"

"Chamelamon, calm down," Marisa whispered. "I can speak for myself, okay?" Chamelamon reluctantly kept quiet as Marisa quickly wiped her eyes before she lifted her head up and looked at Matt.

"Look, I understand why you felt you had to defend Bansheemon, but you didn't have to be so rude about it," Marisa told him. "I was just telling you what I heard those Bakemon say."

"I know, Marisa. I'm sorry," Matt whispered solemnly.

Marisa was silent for a few moments, looking at Matt the whole time. "It's okay, Matt," she finally responded, which caught Matt, Gabumon, and Chamelamon by surprise.

"Really?" Matt asked uncertainly. Marisa slowly nodded her head.

"I'm kinda surprised," Matt openly admitted. "I mean, you were really upset and angry at me. The truth is, I wasn't expecting to see you here at all, Marisa. At the rate you were going, I thought that you would be long gone by now!"

"Yeah, I know," Marisa whispered.

"So...why did you change your mind?" Matt asked curiously.

"Well, I was about ready to head out of the door when I stopped," Marisa explained.

"Why did you stop?" Gabumon asked.

"I realized that even though Matt didn't believe me about Bansheemon, I couldn't just leave him here by himself," Marisa replied. "Even though we're obviously very different from each other, Matt, we're both in the Digiworld for the same reason: to find and defeat Armaggedamon. We both know that we can't do that on our own."

_Aww, man! I feel like such a jerk!_ Matt thought to himself. _Marisa has been a much better friend to me than I've ever been to her! I don't deserve to be her friend._

"Matt, are you okay?" Marisa asked, which brought Matt back to reality.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Matt quickly stuttered.

"So, what do we do now?" Marisa asked.

"First of all, we're getting out of here," Matt announced. "There's another reason why I had to find you. You were right all along about Bansheemon, Marisa. Gabumon and I overheard her talking to Armaggedamon on one of those walkie-talkies!" Marisa and Chamelamon gasped when they heard this news.

"You ready, Marisa?" Matt asked.

"Yeah, let's get outta here," Marisa replied as she and Chamelamon got off of the bench.

"Leaving so soon, Matt?" Bansheemon asked nonchalantly. Matt, Marisa, and their Digimon turned around and gasped when they saw the ghost-type Digimon floating at the entrance to the back hall.

"Bansheemon!" Marisa and Chamelamon gasped simultaneously.

"You lied to me, Bansheemon!" Matt shouted angrily.

"What did you expect, Matt? I'm sure you know by now that I'm not on your side after all," Bansheemon revealed. She glanced over at Marisa and smirked a little bit. "Looks like Lord Armaggedamon will be getting an unexpected bonus," Bansheemon continued. "Two Digi-Destined for the price of one!"

"I don't think so, you old hag!" Chamelamon shouted boldly as she joined Gabumon in the aisle.

"What did you call me?" Bansheemon asked angrily, the expression on her face changing back to the nasty hate-filled expression that Matt remembered seeing earlier.

"I'll show you, you little Digi-pest! Wailing Shriek!" Bansheemon shouted before she let out a long, ear-splitting scream. Matt, Marisa, Gabumon, and Chamelamon quickly covered up their ears, but they could still hear Bansheemon's horrible scream.

"Come on, Gabumon! We gotta stop her!" Chamelamon managed to shout over Bansheemon's scream.

"You're right, Chamelamon!" Gabumon shouted. "Gabumon digivolve to...Garurumon!"

"Chamelamon digivolve to...Dragomon!"

"Howling Blaster!" Garurumon shouted.

"Inferno Blast!" Dragomon shouted. The two attacks struck Bansheemon head-on, knocking her down to the floor.

"All right!" Matt shouted.

"Way to go!" Marisa cheered.

"You foolish children! This is far from over!" Bansheemon shouted angrily as she got back up.

"Stay back, you two!" Garurumon growled in warning to Matt and Marisa.

"Wailing Shriek!" Bansheemon shouted.

She let out an even louder deafening screech, but this time, it was followed by a powerful roaring wind that swirled around the room like a mini-tornado, shattering the church's glass windows and knocking down some of the benches. Dragomon was lifted up by the powerful wind, but she used her massive wings to help her steer her way through it. The powerful wind also lifted Matt up and threw him against the front wall of the sanctuary.

"Matt! Are you okay?" Marisa shouted.

Matt let out a small moan as he slowly sat up. When he looked up, Matt gasped loudly out of shock. He saw the benches behind Marisa starting to topple like a row of dominoes. Unfortunately, there was so much noise from Bansheemon's attack that Matt couldn't hear the benches falling, and he knew that meant Marisa couldn't hear them either. If Matt didn't do something fast, the benches were going to crush Marisa!

"MARISA! LOOK OUT!" Matt yelled at the top of his lungs.

Marisa heard him, but the warning came too late. She let out a terrified scream as the benches came crashing down, causing a giant cloud of dust to rise up from the floor.

"Marisa!" Matt shouted as he quickly got up and ran toward the dust cloud. He coughed a few times from the dust as he entered the swirling cloud to try and find Marisa. As the dust started to clear away, Matt could see Marisa lying on the ground.

"Marisa! Are you okay?" Matt asked as he knelt down beside her.

"Matt, my leg is caught!" Marisa cried out. Matt looked up and gasped when he saw that the bench that Marisa was originally sitting on had landed on top of her left ankle.

"Don't worry, Marisa. I'll get you out of this," Matt assured the frightened girl as he approached the bench, grabbed it with both hands, and tried his best to lift it up on his own. Unfortunately, the bench was too heavy for Matt to even lift up an inch, no matter how hard he tried.

To his surprise, Matt felt the bench being lifted up, as though it had mysteriously become lighter. Matt looked up and realized that Dragomon had landed next to him and was lifting the bench off of Marisa with very little effort.

As Dragomon tossed the bench aside, Matt once again knelt down beside Marisa. "How's your leg, Marisa?" he asked curiously.

"It hurts really bad, Matt," Marisa whispered softly, with tears welling up in her eyes from the pain.

Matt looked at her leg and gasped when he saw the large red circle covering her ankle and part of her leg. He gently felt around the inflamed area, silently hoping that Marisa's ankle wasn't broken. Marisa winced a bit when Matt first touched her sore ankle.

"Doesn't feel like anything's broken," Matt revealed as he let go of Marisa's leg.

"Can you get up at all, Marisa?" Dragomon asked curiously.

Marisa tried to stand up on her own, but when she put some weight on her sore ankle; a huge shock of pain went up her leg and she slumped down to her knees.

"No, I can't, Dragomon," Marisa whispered. Dragomon looked up at Garurumon, who was fighting off Bansheemon as best as he could, but it was obvious that he was struggling.

_Marisa needs my help, but so does Garurumon,_ Dragomon thought. She looked back at Marisa and was surprised to see that Matt was helping her get up.

"Take it easy, Marisa. Try not to put any weight on that ankle," Matt instructed as he allowed Marisa to lean on him for support.

Although she didn't want to abandon Marisa, Dragomon knew in her heart what the right choice was. "Matt, I want you to get Marisa out of here!" Dragomon announced.

Both Matt and Marisa gasped out of surprise. "Are you sure, Dragomon?" Marisa asked.

"Yes, I'm sure. Garurumon needs my help," Dragomon replied, pointing at the continuing battle behind the two children. Matt and Marisa turned around and realized that Dragomon was right.

"You should go help Garurumon," Marisa admitted. Dragomon slowly nodded as she flew up in the air.

"I'm trusting you to take care of her, Matt," Dragomon added before she over the two children's heads towards the battle between Garurumon and Bansheemon.

"Come on, Marisa," Matt shouted as he led Marisa to the doors, which had been blown wide open by Bansheemon's attack. The two children slowly made their way out of the church and into the dark, fog-filled cemetery. Matt wanted to go much faster, but he knew they couldn't because of Marisa's injury.

"Matt, maybe you should just go on without me," Marisa suggested, which caught Matt by surprise.

"What?" Matt asked.

"You should keep going without me. I'm just slowing you down," Marisa explained.

"No way, Marisa! I'm not leaving you!" Matt shouted with determination in his voice.

Just then, there was a terrible crash coming from the church behind them. Matt reacted quickly by pulling Marisa behind a large tombstone in the middle of the cemetery.

"What's going on, Matt?" Marisa whispered as Matt peeked over the side of the tombstone. He gasped slightly when he saw both Garurumon and Dragomon sprawled out on the ground unconscious, with Bansheemon floating above the defeated Digimon.

"It doesn't look good, Marisa," Matt whispered.

"You children might as well come out of hiding!" Bansheemon shouted as she started to search around the cemetery. "Your Digimon have been defeated! You have no choice but to turn yourselves over to Lord Armaggedamon!"

Matt and Marisa stayed perfectly still, staying as quiet as they could, but unfortunately, it didn't help them. The two children gasped when they saw Bansheemon floating above their heads. She let out a sinister chuckle upon finding the two children. Matt quickly stood up and glared at her in hate, positioning himself between Bansheemon and Marisa.

"Do you really think you can fight me without your puny Digimon?" Bansheemon asked with an amused look on her face.

"I'm not going to let you hurt my friend anymore, Bansheemon!" Matt shouted with anger in his voice. While this was going on, Garurumon was starting to gain power from Matt's crest of Friendship. He rose to his feet and used the energy coming from Matt to digivolve.

"Garurumon digivolve to...Were-Garurumon!" Garurumon's digivolving quickly caught Bansheemon's attention.

"It's time to end this, Bansheemon! Wolf Claw!" Were-Garurumon shouted as he formed his paw into a fist and let out an ice blast at Bansheemon. She was caught totally by surprise, and wasn't able to guard against the attack.

Bansheemon let out a pain-filled scream as she broke up into thousands of tiny black pieces, which disintegrated soon afterwards. A walkie-talkie dropped from her hand and onto the ground, which quickly disintegrated. Were-Garurumon quickly ran over to Dragomon, who was just starting to come out of it.

"You need any help, Dragomon?" Were-Garurumon asked.

"No thanks, Were-Garurumon," Dragomon replied as she slowly got to her feet. "What about Marisa? Is she okay?"

"I'm just fine, Dragomon," Marisa replied with a small smile...

"Here ya go, Marisa," Chamelamon announced as she dropped some thick yellow-green stems from her mouth on the ground in front of where Marisa was sitting.

"You just snap the stems open and rub the sap from them on your bruise. That'll help it heal," Chamelamon explained.

Marisa nodded as she picked up one of the stems and snapped it open. She took out the clear gel-like sap with her finger and smeared it over the red mark on her ankle.

"It's starting to feel better already!" Marisa admitted with a small smile.

"That's good," Chamelamon confessed.

Marisa looked up at Matt, who was leaning against a nearby tombstone with Tsunomon in one arm. "Matt, I don't think I could ever thank you enough for helping me out tonight," she admitted.

"Thanks, but I don't deserve it," Matt mumbled just loud enough for Marisa to hear.

"What are you talking about?" Marisa asked curiously.

"Marisa, don't you see? It's my fault that you got hurt!" Matt blurted out.

"What do you mean it's your fault?" Marisa asked.

"Yeah, Matt. It wasn't your fault," Tsunomon added.

"Yes, it is," Matt argued. "If I believed Marisa about Bansheemon in the first place, none of this would have happened!"

"Is that what you think, Matt?" Marisa asked curiously. Matt slowly nodded his head.

"Matt, it's not your fault. You're not the one who knocked down all those benches on me. That was Bansheemon. You saved my life tonight, Matt. Honestly, I couldn't ask for a better friend than you."

Matt found himself blushing a little bit from Marisa's comment. "Thanks, Marisa," Matt replied as he looked up at her. Marisa smiled a bit in return before she looked down and continued rubbing the gel-like sap onto her sore ankle.

_Marisa's so different from the other girls,_ Matt thought to himself. _She's kind and selfless, like Sora, and she's also sensitive and honest, like Mimi. And Marisa's definitely not like her sister, Marni! Guess if I want this friendship to work out, I'll have to take things easier with Marisa._

"Matt, are you ready to go?" Marisa asked, bringing him back to reality.

"I'm ready if you are," Matt replied as he stood up straight. "Do you need any help, Marisa?" he asked as he put Tsunomon down on the ground.

"I don't think so," Marisa replied as she used a nearby tombstone to help her get up.

"Are you sure?" Tsunomon asked.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure," Marisa slowly replied as she tried to take a few steps. Unfortunately, Marisa tripped due to a shock of pain from her ankle. She would have fell to the ground if Matt didn't catch her.

"Then again, I guess I do need some help," Marisa admitted with a nervous giggle. Matt smiled a bit to himself as he helped Marisa stand up.

"We should get outta here before the Bakemon get here and find out what happened," Matt remarked as he looked back at the sun, which was barely peeking over the horizon.

"Good idea," Marisa admitted as they slowly made their way out of the cemetery, followed by Chamelamon and Tsunomon...TO BE CONTINUED


	11. Wrong Side of the Tracks

FROM THE DEPTHS

**Part 11: Wrong Side of the Tracks**

"Are you sure you're okay, Marisa?" Chamelamon asked.

"I'm just fine, Chamelamon," Marisa replied as she walked down the trail with her Digimon, alongside Matt, who was carrying Tsunomon in his arms.

"You're sure?" Chamelamon asked again.

"Chamelamon, you asked her like a hundred times already!" Matt retorted loudly.

"That must be a new record!" Tsunomon admitted.

"And that doesn't count all the times you asked about her ankle yesterday! She's walking, isn't she?" Matt continued.

"If I want your opinion, Matt, I'll ask for it, but don't hold your breath!" Chamelamon remarked sarcastically.

"Chamelamon, stop it!" Marisa complained. Chamelamon growled angrily to herself as she reluctantly kept quiet.

"I think it's good that you worry about me, Chamelamon, but you're kinda taking it a little too far," Marisa openly admitted.

"A little?" Matt asked sarcastically. "That's putting it lightly!"

"Matt, you're not exactly helping," Marisa told him. Just then, there was a loud beeping noise coming from Matt's digivice.

"What's going on?" Marisa asked as Matt looked at his digivice.

"My digivice just picked up three of our friends," Matt announced.

"That's great, Matt! Where are they?" Marisa asked curiously.

"This way!" Matt shouted as he ran down the trail, while carrying Tsunomon in one arm.

"Hey! Wait for us!" Marisa shouted as she and Chamelamon ran after Matt and Tsunomon.

"We gotta hurry, Marisa!" Matt shouted as he looked back at her. "They're moving so fast that we might lose them!"

"Matt, look out!" Tsunomon shouted.

Matt quickly looked up, but the warning came too late. He ran into a wooden board that was stretched across the trail and fell to the ground.

"Are you all right, Matt?" Marisa asked as she helped Matt stand up.

"Yeah, I think so," Matt replied. He looked up and realized that the wooden board he hit was part of a railroad-crossing gate. The red lights were flashing and the warning bells were going off. The two kids and their Digimon could hear the train quickly approaching the railroad crossing. Matt and Marisa covered their ears as the old-fashioned train chugged across the rickety tracks, repeatedly blowing its loud whistle.

"Matt, do you think that maybe our friends are on that train?" Marisa shouted.

"I think you're right!" Matt shouted as the train finished going across the tracks. They slowly brought down their hands and watched as the train continued speeding down the tracks.

"There's no way we'll be able to catch up with that train now," Matt reluctantly admitted.

"Maybe we can," Chamelamon muttered thoughtfully.

"What do you mean, Chamelamon?" Marisa asked.

"There's a train station not far down these tracks," Chamelamon explained. "I'll betcha that train will stop at the station, and that's where we'll find our friends."

"What do you think, Matt?" Marisa asked.

"Might as well give it a shot," Matt replied. Just then, the railroad-crossing gate finally lifted up.

"Let's go," Matt announced as he, Tsunomon, Marisa, and Chamelamon started to follow the railroad tracks...

Meanwhile, the train was indeed pulling up to an antique wooden train station. Inside one of the cars near the end of the train, Tai, Kari, and T.K. were fast asleep, with their Digimon sleeping in their laps. As the train screeched to a stop, Tai and Koromon woke up from the shrill noise of the screeching brakes.

"Tai, I'm hungry," Koromon complained as his stomach began to rumble.

"All right, Koromon," Tai replied with a soft chuckle as he stood up. He carried Koromon into the next train car, which had a table full of food, like a miniature buffet. Tai placed Koromon on top of the table in front of a bowl with a variety of berries.

"All right!" Koromon cheered before he started to practically inhale the bowl full of berries.

While his Digimon was eating, Tai was a bit startled to hear his digivice go off. He looked at it and saw two red dots located outside of the train. Tai quickly peeked into the other car to check on Kari and T.K., who were still sleeping with Gatomon and Patamon on their laps.

"It couldn't be Kari and T.K. They're still asleep," Tai muttered out loud. He approached a side window and looked outside. He could see Matt, Marisa, Tsunomon, and Chamelamon walking alongside the train.

"Koromon, Matt and Marisa are here," Tai announced with a big grin.

"Really? That's wonderful, Tai!" Koromon admitted as he quickly licked the juices from the berries off of his lips.

"Come on, Koromon! Let's go!" Tai exclaimed as he picked Koromon up and ran toward the door leading outside.

"Matt! Marisa! Over here!" Tai shouted as he jumped off of the train and walked over to Matt, Marisa, Tsunomon, and Chamelamon.

"Hey, Tai. Good to see you again," Matt admitted.

"Hello, Tai. Hello, Koromon," Marisa greeted cheerfully.

"Oh, hey, Marisa," Tai replied.

"Hi, Marisa!" Koromon greeted.

As this was going on, Matt remembered that there were two other kids on the train. "Who else is with you, Tai?" he asked curiously.

"T.K. and Kari. They're still sleeping on the train," Tai explained.

As the three kids were talking, Koromon noticed that the train was slowly starting to pull away from the station. "Tai, the train is leaving without us!" Koromon shouted.

"What?" Tai, Matt, and Marisa exclaimed simultaneously as they looked up at the departing train.

Immediately, Tai ran after the train and jumped on board, with Koromon in his arms. Matt was the next one to jump aboard the train with Tsunomon, followed by Chamelamon.

"Come on, Marisa!" Chamelamon shouted to her human friend, who was still trying to catch up with the train.

"Marisa, you gotta jump!" Matt shouted.

"I don't think I can do it!" Marisa shouted as she desperately ran after the train, which was steadily gaining more speed.

"Don't worry! I'll catch you!" Matt shouted as he stretched out his hand to her.

"I can't, Matt!" Marisa shouted.

"You can do it, Marisa! You just have to trust me!" Matt shouted.

Marisa hesitated for a moment and then jumped. She managed to grab a hold of Matt's hand, but found herself dangling above the fast moving ground.

"Come on, Tai! Help me!" Matt shouted. Tai quickly ran to the open door next to Matt and grabbed Marisa's other hand.

"Pull!" Tai shouted. Together, the two boys pulled as hard as they could. They managed to yank Marisa on board of the train, but she ended up landing on top of Tai and Matt.

"I don't think I can ever thank you two enough!" Marisa gushed out.

"Don't thank me! Get off me!" Tai complained loudly.

"I'm so sorry, guys," Marisa apologized as she quickly got off of Tai and Matt.

"Gee, thanks," Tai muttered out loud as he and Matt stood up and picked up their Digimon.

"What's going on, Tai?" Kari asked curiously. Tai, Matt, Marisa, and their Digimon looked up and saw Kari and Gatomon standing on top of the short flight of stairs leading into the car.

"Hey, Kari. Sorry if we woke you up," Tai apologized.

"That's okay. Did you two just get on the train?" Kari asked. Both Matt and Marisa nodded their heads in response.

Kari turned her head and announced, "T.K., your brother's here!" Within moments, T.K. and Patamon soon appeared next to Kari and Gatomon.

"Matt!" T.K. exclaimed happily as he ran down the stairs and embraced his older brother.

"Good to see you, too, T.K.," Matt admitted...

"So, how did you find out about this train?" Matt asked curiously.

"The Gremlimon told us about it before we left their village," Kari explained.

"But before we could go, we had to fight this mean rock Digimon called Golemon," T.K. added. Tai, Kari, Matt, T.K., Marisa, and their Digimon were all in the dining car.

"At first, I thought the Gremlimon were bad Digimon, but it turned out they weren't," Tai revealed.

"It's kinda hard to tell who's on our side here in the Digiworld, isn't it?" Marisa wondered aloud to no one in particular.

"Yeah, it is. I almost fell for Bansheemon's trap because she tricked me into thinking that she was one of the good guys, but it turned out she was working for Armaggedamon all along," Matt reluctantly admitted.

"If it wasn't for Marisa and Chamelamon, we would have been locked up in Armaggedamon's dungeon by now!" Tsunomon announced.

"Well, I don't know about that…" Marisa trailed off as her cheeks turned slightly red. "I'm sure you two could have figured it out on your own."

"Man, Marisa doesn't like to brag about anything," Tai whispered to Matt, who was standing next to him.

"Tai, you know Marisa's not like that," Matt whispered. "Marni, on the other hand, would probably brag about it to the world!"

"I'll bet you're right about that!" Tai whispered with a soft snicker.

"What's so funny?" Marisa asked curiously.

"Oh, nothing," Tai lied, not wanting to hurt Marisa's feelings.

"Greetings, kids," a familiar voice announced. The four kids and their Digimon looked up at a familiar elderly man wearing an old-fashioned train conductor's uniform with a matching hat.

"Oh, hello, Gennai," Marisa greeted.

"Sorry, but I'm not Gennai," the elderly man confessed.

"Huh?" Matt and Marisa exclaimed simultaneously, exchanging confused looks.

"Matt, Marisa, this is Victor," Tai introduced the Gennai look-alike. "He happens to be an old friend of Gennai's."

"Yup, Gennai and I go way back," Victor admitted. "He told me all about the original Digi-Destined and how they defeated the four Dark Masters and Apocalymon. I promise I'll do everything I can to help you kids out."

"Thanks, Victor," Matt admitted, while Marisa nodded her head in approval. She stopped when she noticed a strange look on Victor's face, as though he was uneasy about something.

Victor quickly shook it off before he announced, "I should head back to the engine room. Let me know if you need anything."

"Okay, Victor," Tai admitted as Victor left. Marisa glanced over at T.K. and Kari, who were sitting at the other end of the car with Koromon, Tsunomon, Chamelamon, Gatomon, and Patamon. She then looked back at Tai and Matt, who were standing in front of her.

"Umm...Tai, Matt? Did it seem like Victor was upset about something?" Marisa asked a bit hesitantly.

"I didn't see anything wrong with him," Matt admitted.

"I don't know about this, guys. Something just doesn't feel right," Marisa muttered out loud.

"There's nothing to worry about, Marisa. Look, T.K., Kari, and I have been all over this train, and we didn't find anything suspicious," Tai revealed.

"Well...okay," Marisa reluctantly agreed. "Umm, I'm going to get some food for our Digimon, Matt. They haven't had anything to eat in a while. You don't mind, do you?"

"Go ahead, Marisa," Matt told her. Marisa nodded as she turned around, walked over to the table, and started to load up a plate with food.

Matt looked back at Tai, who had a mischievous smirk on his face. "What's with you, Tai?" he asked a bit suspiciously.

"You like Marisa, don't you, Matt?" Tai asked mischievously.

"Yeah, I guess," Matt replied. "I mean, she's pretty nice and all."

"No, I mean you REALLY like her," Tai repeated.

"What are you saying?" Matt demanded.

"I think you have a crush on Marisa!" Tai accused Matt teasingly.

"You're crazy, Tai! I don't LIKE Marisa, I just like her!" Matt denied, his face turning red from embarrassment.

"What's the name of that river in Egypt? Oh, yeah: DE NIAL!" Tai remarked with a little smirk.

"You better knock it off, Tai!" Matt warned him.

"What's going on?" Marisa interrupted. Tai and Matt looked up and noticed that Marisa was looking at them curiously.

"Nothing's going on, Marisa," Matt lied.

"Are you sure? It sounded like you two were fighting about something," Marisa muttered out loud.

"Don't worry about it, Marisa. It was no big deal," Matt tried to convince her.

"Well, okay," Marisa eventually replied. She turned around, picked up the plate full of food from the table, and walked over to where T.K., Kari, and all five Digimon were sitting on the floor.

"Here you go," Marisa announced as she placed the plate of food in front of Tsunomon and Chamelamon.

"Thanks, Marisa," Tsunomon and Chamelamon replied simultaneously before they started eating the food. Marisa sat down on the floor and watched the two Digimon as they ate. She glanced over at T.K. and Kari, who were sitting next to her with Patamon and Gatomon in their laps.

"Are you two okay?" Marisa asked when she noticed the tired looks in their eyes.

"We're okay, Marisa. Just a little tired," Kari replied before letting out a quick yawn.

"I'm really glad that my brother's here, but I'm glad that you're here, too, Marisa," T.K. confessed.

"You are?" Marisa asked, a bit surprised by what T.K. just said.

"I like you, Marisa. You're really nice to everyone," T.K. admitted.

"Yeah, same here," Kari added.

"Thanks, T.K. Thanks, Kari," Marisa replied with a small smile...

Marisa let out a deep sigh as she stared up at the ceiling of the car. About an hour has passed since she, Matt, Chamelamon, and Tsunomon jumped aboard the train. After they had finished eating, the five kids and their Digimon returned to the other car. Everyone had fallen asleep, including their Digimon, except for Marisa, who couldn't sleep. She looked down for a moment at Chamelamon, who was fast asleep in her lap, and smiled a bit.

Suddenly, Marisa was surprised to hear faint harmonica music coming form somewhere behind her. She looked behind her, but there was no one else in the car. Curious as to whom was playing the music, Marisa gently picked up Chamelamon, so she wouldn't wake her Digimon up, and slowly stood up. She carefully laid Chamelamon down in the chair she was originally sitting in before she headed for the back of the car.

"Hello?" Marisa asked a bit nervously as she walked into the next car. To her surprise, the car was completely empty.

As she headed to the next door, Marisa could tell she was getting closer since the music was getting louder. When Marisa entered yet another car, the mysterious harmonica player was nowhere to be seen. She looked up and noticed a small sign over the next door that read "Caboose."

"Whoever is playing that harmonica must be in here," Marisa muttered thoughtfully to herself as she slowly approached the door leading into the caboose. "Either that, or someone's playing a joke on me!" She took in a deep breath before she started to slowly push the door open.

When she opened the door, Marisa was surprised to see Matt sitting on a wooden crate, playing a small silver harmonica. Sitting in his lap was Tsunomon, who was obviously enjoying the harmonica music. Marisa stood in the doorway for a while, listening to the soothing sounds coming from Matt's harmonica. She decided to take a chance and started to slowly walk into the caboose. Unfortunately, Marisa stepped onto an old wooden board, which made a very loud creak.

Matt stopped playing his harmonica when he heard the noise and he and Tsunomon looked up at the doorway, where Marisa was standing.

"Oh. Hey, Marisa," Matt greeted, a bit surprised to see her standing there.

"I'm so sorry, Matt. I didn't mean to interrupt you," Marisa stuttered quickly, her cheeks growing red from embarrassment. "I'll go now."

As she turned around to leave the caboose, Matt shouted, "Marisa, wait! You don't have to go."

"I don't?" Marisa asked as she turned back around to face Matt.

"No, you don't. You can stay, if you want to," Matt replied.

"All right," Marisa slowly replied as she stepped back into the caboose.

"Just go pull up a crate. I would say pull up a chair, but there aren't any back here," Matt remarked jokingly. Marisa giggled a bit nervously when she looked around and noticed that Matt was right.

"So...what are you doing all the way back here, Matt?" Marisa asked curiously as she sat down on a small crate right across from Matt and Tsunomon.

"Well, Tsunomon and I couldn't sleep," Matt explained. "I wanted to play my harmonica, so we went back here so I wouldn't wake anyone up. I didn't wake you up, did I?"

"No, you didn't," Marisa told him. "I couldn't sleep either."

"What about Chamelamon?" Tsunomon asked curiously.

"Chamelamon had no problem going to sleep," Marisa replied. "I left her in the car with the others. I didn't want to wake her up." There was an uneasy pause of silence that followed.

"You play the harmonica pretty good, Matt," Marisa confessed.

"Thanks," Matt replied.

"How long have you been playing?" Marisa asked curiously.

Matt chuckled a bit to himself as he looked at the harmonica in his hand. "Feels like forever, but I've actually been playing for about eight years."

"Eight years? That's a really long time," Marisa admitted.

"Yeah, I know," Matt remarked. "I've been playing this thing all of T.K.'s life. He said a few times that he actually remembers me playing my harmonica when he was still a little baby."

"You and T.K. must be really close," Marisa muttered out loud.

"Yeah, we are," Matt admitted.

"I kinda figured it out, Matt. The way you talked about T.K. over the past couple of days, I could tell that you really care about him a lot," Marisa revealed. "And it's obvious that T.K. feels the same way about you." Another pause of awkward silence followed between the two children.

"Excuse me, Matt, but I have to go," Marisa interrupted as she quickly got off of the crate that she was sitting on.

"Go where?" Tsunomon asked curiously. Marisa could feel her face becoming flustered.

"She means she has to go to the bathroom, Tsunomon," Matt whispered to his Digimon.

"Oh! I'm sorry, Marisa," Tsunomon apologized.

"That's okay, Tsunomon," Marisa admitted. "I should be back in a few minutes. That is, if it's okay with you, Matt."

"I don't mind," Matt replied. "Truth is, I like talking to you, Marisa."

"Okay, Matt," Marisa replied with a small smile on her face. "I'll be back soon." With that, Marisa left the caboose, leaving Matt and Tsunomon behind...

After she was finished using the bathroom, Marisa took in a deep breath before she started to head back to the caboose.

"Victor!" Marisa heard a voice shout.

"That voice…it sounds familiar," Marisa muttered thoughtfully to herself. Suddenly, she gasped when she realized whose voice she just heard. "That was Houdinimon!"

Marisa peeked into the next car, where the voice seemed to be coming from, and saw Houdinimon sitting at a table, studying a map that was spread out in front of him.

"Victor, you are trying my patience," Houdinimon warned in an annoyed tone. There was still no answer from Victor, which irritated Houdinimon even more.

Marisa watched as the Digimon reached into his jacket and pulled out a doll that looked like Victor. Houdinimon held the doll at arm's length and slowly pulled it towards him. Suddenly, Victor came into the car, struggling as though invisible hands were pushing him from behind.

"What do you want, Houdinimon?" Victor asked.

"When will the train reach the next stop?" Houdinimon asked dully.

"In about an hour. Please, I beg you, don't hurt the children," Victor pleaded. Houdinimon let out a sinister chuckle.

"It's not me who you have to worry about. Armaggedamon, however, is another story," Houdinimon revealed. "Anyway, it's none of your business. Now, be gone!" When Victor chose to stand his ground instead, Houdinimon forced him to leave by using the doll.

"Oh, no! What am I going to do?" Marisa asked herself. "I better tell Matt about this." As quietly as she could, Marisa ran through the cars of the train until she finally reached the caboose.

"Marisa? What's wrong?" Matt asked when he saw Marisa at the open door of the caboose, bent over and breathing heavily, as though she had been running.

"Matt...Houdinimon...he's on...the train," Marisa quickly explained in between gasps of air.

"Houdinimon?" Matt and Tsunomon repeated simultaneously as they got off of the crate and ran to Marisa's side.

"How did he get on the train?" Tsunomon asked.

"I don't know, but he's controlling Victor somehow," Marisa replied worriedly. "What should we do, Matt?"

"We better let the others know what's going on," Matt announced as he headed back to the car where everyone else was still sleeping, with Tsunomon in his arms, followed by Marisa.

"Wake up, everyone!" Matt shouted loudly. Tai, Kari, T.K., Koromon, Gatomon, Patamon, and Chamelamon all slowly woke up when they heard Matt shout.

"What's going on, Matt?" Tai asked sleepily as he stretched out his arms and yawned.

"Marisa said that she saw Houdinimon on the train!" Tsunomon announced.

"What?" Tai gasped as he stood up with Koromon in his arms.

"He is on the train, Tai. I saw him," Marisa revealed.

"How come Victor didn't tell us about Houdinimon?" Kari asked.

"He couldn't, even if he wanted to, Kari. Houdinimon has Victor under his control," Marisa told her.

"What are we gonna do?" T.K. asked worriedly.

"I'll tell you what we're gonna do, T.K. We're gonna get Houdinimon before he can get us," Tai announced.

"Did Houdinimon see you at all, Marisa?" Chamelamon asked.

"No, he didn't see me. I'm sure of it," Marisa replied.

"That's good. We'll be able to spring a surprise attack on Houdinimon without him knowing about it," Tai muttered thoughtfully. "Where is her, Marisa?"

"This way. Follow me," Marisa replied as she headed into the next car, with Chamelamon right behind her.

Tai, Matt, Kari, T.K., and their Digimon followed Marisa and Chamelamon through a bunch of cars. She finally stopped at a door that led into the next car. Marisa peeked through the window and saw Houdinimon still sitting at the same table.

"Well, Marisa? Is Houdinimon still in there?" Tai asked a bit impatiently. Marisa turned around and nodded her head. Tai and Matt approached Marisa and looked through the glass window.

"Where is he?" Matt asked curiously.

"Right over there," Marisa whispered, pointing at the table where Houdinimon was sitting. Tai and Matt both looked in the direction Marisa was pointing, but all they could see was an empty table.

"Umm...Marisa? There's no one there," Matt whispered.

"What are you talking about? Houdinimon's sitting right there," Marisa insisted.

"You must be seeing things, Marisa. There's no one in the car. Here, I'll show you," Tai announced as he took Marisa's hand and led her into the car.

"Tai, what are you doing?" Marisa asked a bit panicky as she broke free of Tai's hold.

"Marisa, look around you!" Tai shouted. "We're the only ones in here!"

"No, we're not, Tai! Houdinimon is right there!" Marisa insisted, almost on the verge of tears.

"What's going on?" Victor asked curiously as he entered the car.

"Hey, Victor. Marisa's claiming that Houdinimon is in this car, but as you can see for yourself, there's no one in here except for us," Tai explained.

"But he is here, Tai! Why can't you see him?" Marisa asked timidly, who was obviously becoming upset.

"Marisa, maybe you should sit down for a while," Victor suggested, leading the pig-tailed girl to a table across from where she could still see Houdinimon sitting. "I'll get you a glass of water."

While Victor headed to a counter with some empty glasses and a water pitcher, Marisa looked over at where Houdinimon sat, then over to her friends and the Digimon, including Chamelamon. They all had looks of concern in their eyes.

_Maybe Tai's right. Maybe I am seeing things,_ Marisa thought as she stared down at the table.

"Here you are, Marisa," Victor announced as he handed her a glass of water.

"Thanks, Victor," Marisa whispered. As she took a sip of water, Victor sat down on the opposite side of the table.

"Listen carefully, Marisa. I don't know how this happened, but one thing I know for sure is you're not seeing things. Houdinimon is on the train, in this very car," Victor whispered just loud enough for Marisa to hear.

"He is?" Marisa whispered.

"Yes, Marisa. Before Tai, Kari, and T.K. boarded the train, Houdinimon used a spell in himself that made him invisible to the other kids, the Digimon, and even to myself," Victor revealed.

"Well, how come I'm the only one who can see him, Victor?" Marisa asked curiously.

"I'm not exactly sure," Victor reluctantly admitted. "I have an idea, but I'll have to explain later. Right now, you have to prove to your friends that Houdinimon is indeed on the train."

"How can I do that?" Marisa asked curiously.

"Houdinimon may be invisible, but that doesn't mean that he can't see, hear, or feel what's going on around him," Victor explained. "I better stop talking now. Houdinimon might get suspicious."

Victor got up from the table and asked out loud, "How are you feeling now, Marisa?" Marisa quickly caught on that Victor was doing so in order to avoid getting Houdinimon suspicious.

"Much better now, Victor," Marisa replied as she stood up with the partially filled glass of water in her hand. As she walked over to her friends, Marisa added, "I'm sorry about getting you all up for nothing. You're right, Tai, I must be seeing things. It's probably because I haven't been getting a lot of sleep lately."

Suddenly, Marisa pretended to trip over a small snag in the rug and the remaining water in her glass went flying toward the table where she knew Houdinimon was sitting.

"Ahh!" a deep voice screamed.

Tai, Kari, Matt, T.K., and their Digimon were startled to hear the scream. They were even more shocked to see the water that Marisa spilled was trickling down an invisible, yet familiar face.

"It's Houdinimon!" Tsunomon gasped.

"Marisa was right all along!" Matt exclaimed.

Just then, Houdinimon returned to his solid, visible form. Tai noticed the Victor doll in Houdinimon's hand. "What's the matter, Houdinimon? Running out of tricks?" he asked sarcastically.

"What?" Houdinimon asked.

"You must be running out of tricks of your own if you had to steal them from other Digimon," Tai pointed out smugly.

"Where did you get...?" Houdinimon started to ask until he realized what Tai was talking about. "Oh, I see. You and your other little friends fought and defeated my old pupil, Puppetmon, didn't you?" Tai, Kari, Matt, T.K., and their Digimon gasped in astonishment.

"Did you really think that Puppetmon learned such a complicated trick on his own?" Houdinimon asked with a sinister smirk. "I could have taught him so much more, but all Puppetmon wanted to do was play games like some spoiled Digi-brat!" he added angrily with a brief pause.

"It was nice talking to you children, but I'm afraid I'll have to destroy you now. Card Trick!" Houdinimon shouted as he jumped up and threw six playing cards down at the five Digi-Destined, the Digimon, and Victor.

"Koromon digivolve to...Agumon."

"Tsunomon digivolve to...Gabumon."

"Pepper Breath!" Agumon shouted.

"Blue Blaster!" Gabumon shouted. The two Digimon destroyed the deadly cards just in the nick of time.

"Pepper Breath!" Agumon shouted again as he aimed a second fireball at Houdinimon. The attack struck Houdinimon's hand, causing him to drop the Victor doll.

"That's it, Agumon! We got him now!" Tai shouted.

"Come on, Digimon!" Agumon shouted as he, Gabumon, Gatomon, Patamon, and Chamelamon backed Houdinimon into a corner of the car, followed by the five Digi-Destined kids and Victor.

"Back off now! Or do you want to see my other trick?" Houdinimon asked. He stared coldly at the Digi-Destined kids and their Digimon, but they didn't back off.

"Very well then," Houdinimon replied nonchalantly as he reached into his jacket.

The five kids and their Digimon gasped when he pulled out a second doll that looked a lot like Marisa. Houdinimon chuckled sinisterly as he lifted the doll high above his head. Marisa gasped loudly when she was suddenly lifted up into the air until her head almost hit the ceiling.

"Marisa!" T.K. gasped.

"Let her go, you creep!" Chamelamon shouted angrily. Houdinimon let out another sinister laugh as he flipped the Marisa doll upside down in his hand.

"Please stop it!" Marisa cried out in fright as she hung upside down in the air.

"Better watch what you say to me, little one. Don't forget, I literally hold your friend's life in my hand," Houdinimon announced with a smirk.

Tai groaned slightly, knowing that he and his friends had no other choice. "Fine, Houdinimon. Back off, guys," Tai reluctantly ordered the five Digimon.

"I knew you would see things my way," Houdinimon admitted as Agumon, Gabumon, Gatomon, Patamon, and Chamelamon stepped away from him.

"Listen up, Houdinimon. We did what you wanted, so put Marisa down!" Matt demanded.

"Of course I will. Catch!" Houdinimon shouted.

Tai, Kari, Matt, and T.K. gasped out of shock as Houdinimon threw the doll high over their heads. Marisa let out a terrified scream as she went flying towards the other end of the car.

"Marisa!" Matt shouted as he quickly ran after the doll. He caught the doll just as Marisa was inches away from colliding with the wall. Marisa was surprised when she stopped just a few inches away from the wall. She quickly dropped down to the floor soon after.

"Are you okay, Marisa?" Matt asked with concern as he helped Marisa get up.

"Yeah, I think so," Marisa replied. "Thanks, Matt."

"You're gonna pay for that, Houdinimon!" Chamelamon proclaimed.

"And what are you going to do about it, little one?" Houdinimon asked sarcastically with a sinister laugh. His remark only made Chamelamon angrier. "Chamelamon digivolve to...Dragomon!"

"What's this?" Houdinimon exclaimed out of surprise as he witnessed Marisa's Digimon digivolving right in front of him.

Dragomon growled angrily at Houdinimon with her eyes narrowed. "Inferno Blast!"

Houdinimon reacted quickly by rapidly spinning his cane around in front of him like a baton. Acting as a shield, Houdinimon's spinning cane deflected Dragomon's attack.

"Get down!" Tai shouted as he pushed T.K. and Kari down to the floor. Agumon, Gabumon, Gatomon, Patamon, and victor quickly ducked down alongside the three kids as Dragomon's Inferno Blast flew over their heads. The massive blast of fire collided into the side of the car, burning a huge hole in the wooden wall.

"Sorry about that," Dragomon apologized as she looked back at her friends.

"Dragomon, look out!" Marisa shouted. Dragomon quickly turned back around, only to be met by a blow in the chin from Houdinimon's cane.

"We have to get out of here!" Victor shouted as he, Tai, Kari, T.K., and the four Digimon got up.

"But how can we?" Marisa asked as she and Matt quickly joined them.

Tai looked through the gaping hole left by Dragomon's attack. The train was crossing a long bridge suspended high above a wide river. "We'll fly!" Tai suggested.

"Okay!" Patamon and Gatomon agreed simultaneously, quickly understanding what Tai was getting at.

"Patamon digivolve to...Angemon!"

"Gatomon digivolve to...Angewomon!"

"Hold on!" Angemon instructed as he scooped up T.K. and Victor, while Angewomon picked up Tai, Kari, and Agumon. Angemon approached the hole in the wall and flew toward the distant shoreline at the ground below, followed quickly by Angewomon.

"Don't worry, Matt, Marisa! We'll come back for you!" Angewomon shouted as she flew from the moving train with her three passengers.

"That's okay, Angewomon! I'll get them down!" Gabumon shouted. "Gabumon digivolve to...Garurumon!" As soon as Garurumon finished digivolving, Matt quickly jumped on his Digimon's back.

"Come on, Marisa!" Matt shouted to Marisa, who was watching the continuing battle between Dragomon and Houdinimon.

"I don't want to leave without Dragomon!" Marisa revealed.

"Go with him, Marisa!" Dragomon shouted as she quickly moved out of the way of one of Houdinimon's playing cards, which embedded itself into a nearby table. "I have to take care of this pesky magician first!"

"Are you sure, Dragomon?" Marisa asked.

"Yes, I'm sure, Marisa. Go now!" Dragomon shouted.

"Hurry up, Marisa!" Matt shouted. Marisa hesitated for a moment before she quickly ran over to Garurumon and climbed on his back with Matt's help.

"Hang on, you two!" Garurumon growled in warning to his two passengers. Matt quickly nodded as he held onto Garurumon's shoulders. He was a bit startled when he felt Marisa's arms wrap around his waist.

"Marisa..." Matt started to complain as he turned his head. He stopped when he noticed how badly Marisa was trembling.

"Yeah, Matt?" Marisa whispered nervously as she opened her eyes, which she had closed tightly earlier.

"Uh...never mind," Matt muttered out loud.

"You two ready?" Garurumon asked. Matt looked back at Marisa, who slowly nodded her head.

"We're ready, Garurumon," Matt announced.

"Here we go!" Garurumon shouted as he jumped off of the train. Matt could feel Marisa's arms tighten around his waist a little bit as Garurumon used the steel beams of the tall bridge to make his way down to the riverbank. He jumped from steel beam to steel beam until he made one last leap and landed safely on the riverbank.

"Marisa, you can let go now," Matt told the pig-tailed girl. Marisa slowly opened her eyes and realized that she, Matt, and Garurumon were now safely on the ground.

"All right," Marisa replied as she let go of Matt before he slid off of Garurumon's back onto the ground.

"Come on," Matt told Marisa as he held his hand out to her. Marisa took Matt's hand and he helped her off of Garurumon's back. As soon as Marisa got off of his back, Garurumon de-digivolved back to Gabumon.

"Matt! Marisa!" they heard Tai shouted.

Matt, Marisa, and Gabumon looked up and saw Tai, Kari, T.K., Agumon, Angemon, Angewomon, and Victor running towards them. Realizing that he was still holding Marisa's hand, Matt quickly let go of her hand to avoid being teased about it by Tai. Marisa was a bit confused and hurt by what Matt just did, but she tried not to let it show as their friends approached them.

"Are you two okay?" Victor asked.

"Yeah, we're fine," Matt quickly replied.

"Has anyone seen Dragomon?" Marisa asked.

"There she is!" T.K. shouted, pointing up at the sky. Tai, Kari, Matt, Marisa, Victor, Agumon, Gabumon, Angemon, and Angewomon looked up and saw Dragomon and Houdinimon locked in aerial combat.

"Hankie Wrap!" Houdinimon shouted as he opened his jacket, releasing a long colorful chain of handkerchiefs. The hankie chain wrapped itself tightly around Dragomon, tying up her arms and wings. With her wings restrained, Dragomon started to plummet down to the river below.

"Dragomon!" Marisa shouted.

"You gotta help her, Angewomon!" Kari pleaded. Angewomon nodded in approval as she quickly flew up in the air.

"You, too, Angemon!" T.K. added. Angemon nodded as well as he flew after Angewomon.

"Angemon, you distract Houdinimon while I go free Dragomon," Angewomon suggested.

"You got it!" Angemon agreed before the two angel-type Digimon separated.

"Hand of Fate!" Angemon shouted as he launched his attack at Houdinimon, who managed to move out of the way.

"There's no way I can reach her in time," Angewomon muttered to herself as she desperately tried to catch up with Dragomon.

_I have an idea. I just hope this works,_ Angewomon thought to herself as she stopped in mid-air and prepared to use her attack.

"Celestial Arrow!" Angewomon shouted as she fired her glowing white arrow at Dragomon.

The arrow of white light sped past Dragomon's side, slitting through the hankie chain that restrained her. Realizing what had just happened, Dragomon stretched out her wings, which ripped through the remaining handkerchiefs.

"Way to go, Angewomon!" Kari cheered.

"Thanks, Angewomon," Dragomon replied as she joined Kari's Digimon.

"No problem, Dragomon. Now, let's go take care of Houdinimon!" Angewomon shouted as she flew towards the ongoing battle between Angemon and Houdinimon, followed by Dragomon. Houdinimon frowned a bit when he realized that he was outnumbered.

"Perhaps I should bring back my old pupil to even the odds. Danger Illusion!" Houdinimon shouted as he flung out his arms, releasing thin streams of gold powder from his hands. The gold powder gathered together, forming a large wooden puppet carrying a sledgehammer.

"No way! It's Puppetmon!" Tai gasped out of shock.

"Who's Puppetmon?" Marisa asked curiously.

"Puppetmon was one of the Dark Masters we told you about," Matt explained. "He was also one of the worst. Puppetmon even went as far as kidnapping T.K. just he could have someone to play with!"

"Don't worry, guys. I'll turn Puppetmon into a giant bonfire when I'm through with him!" Dragomon claimed. "Inferno--"

"Dragomon, wait! You can't attack Puppetmon!" Angemon shouted.

"Why not?" Dragomon asked.

"Jut trust us on this, Dragomon," Angewomon announced.

"Okay, if you say so," Dragomon reluctantly agreed. Down below, the kids watched the five Digimon as they just glared at each other.

"I don't get it. Why aren't they attacking Puppetmon?" Tai asked.

"They can't fight Puppetmon, Tai. When we were at the Digi-Carnival, Houdinimon used the same attack on me, T.K., and Yuuchi, only that time, he created Myotismon," Kari explained.

"As long as you don't fight the fake Digimon, it won't hurt you. We learned that the hard way," T.K. added. After a while, Houdinimon realized that Angemon, Angewomon, and Dragomon weren't going to attack Puppetmon.

"If you won't attack Puppetmon, then I will! Card Trick!" Houdinimon shouted as he threw one of his playing cards at Puppetmon.

Angemon, Angewomon, and Dragomon gasped as the playing card entered Puppetmon's body. His eyes glowed sinisterly as he became energized by Houdinimon's attack.

"Time to play," Puppetmon announced menacingly.

"Puppetmon, destroy Angemon, Angewomon, and Dragomon!" Houdinimon ordered the illusion of Puppetmon, who chuckled sinisterly in approval.

"Puppet Pummel!" Puppetmon shouted as he lifted up his wooden sledgehammer and several small missiles flew out from holes underneath the hammer's head. The three Digimon managed to fly out of the way of the oncoming missiles.

"Hand of Fate!" Angemon shouted.

"Celestial Arrow!" Angewomon shouted.

"Inferno Blast!" Dragomon shouted. The three attacks destroyed the rest of Puppetmon's missiles.

"All right!" T.K. cheered.

"Way to go, guys!" Kari shouted.

"Don't just stand there, Puppetmon! Get them now!" Houdinimon commanded. Puppetmon responded by charging at Angemon, Angewomon, and Dragomon, swinging his massive sledgehammer at them.

"Whoa!" Dragomon shouted as she flew out of the way, barely avoiding a dangerous blow from Puppetmon's sledgehammer. Unfortunately, Angemon wasn't so lucky.

"Ahh!" Angemon screamed in pain as Puppetmon's sledgehammer struck him square in the chest.

"Angemon!" T.K. shouted as he watched his Digimon fall from the sky, weakened by Puppetmon's blow. He became bathed in a glowing white light and de-digivolved back to Patamon.

"I got you, Patamon!" T.K. shouted as he stretched out his arms and caught Patamon.

"I'm sorry, T.K.," Patamon whispered weakly.

"That's okay. You tried your best," T.K. replied.

"Look out, Angewomon!" Kari gasped when she saw Puppetmon sneaking up behind her Digimon with his sledgehammer raised above his head. Before Puppetmon could strike Angewomon, Dragomon quickly flew behind him and grabbed the sledgehammer's head, which prevented him from striking Angewomon.

"I don't think so, you ugly old tree stump!" Dragomon shouted.

"Hey! Give that back! It's mine!" Puppetmon complained loudly as he tried to pull his sledgehammer out of Dragomon's grip.

"No way, Puppetmon!" Dragomon shouted as the tug-of-war with Puppetmon's sledgehammer continued.

"Just hang on, Dragomon!" Angewomon shouted. "Celestial Arrow!" Her arrow of white light struck Puppetmon's back, but it didn't cause much damage. Enraged, Puppetmon managed to yank his sledgehammer out of Dragomon's hands, with the force pushing the Champion Digimon back a few yards.

"Puppet Pummel!" Puppetmon shouted.

"No! Angewomon!" Dragomon shouted when she saw Kari's Digimon being struck repeatedly by the small missiles from Puppetmon's sledgehammer. Before Dragomon could reach her, Angewomon, who was weakened from Puppetmon's attack, started to fall from the sky. As she plummeted down, Angewomon de-digivolved to Gatomon.

"Gatomon!" Kari cried out as she helplessly watched her Digimon fall further down to the deep river.

Before Gatomon could hit the water, Dragomon quickly swooped down and caught the cat-type Digimon. She flew to the bank where the others were and handed Gatomon to Kari.

"Thank you, Dragomon," Kari replied. Dragomon nodded silently as she looked up at Puppetmon and Houdinimon.

"They're gonna pay for that!" Dragomon growled angrily as she flew back up in the air.

"Dragomon, don't! You can't fight them all by yourself!" Marisa shouted.

"I have to try, Marisa. I'm the only one left," Dragomon shouted. She focused her attention on the two Digimon floating in front of her. "Inferno Blast!" Both Puppetmon and Houdinimon quickly moved out of the way of the blast of fire.

"Get her, Puppetmon!" Houdinimon ordered.

"Puppet Pummel!" Puppetmon shouted. Dragomon managed to avoid most of the missiles, but a couple of them struck her in the chest.

"Dragomon!" Marisa cried out. "I'm okay!" Dragomon shouted as she shook it off.

"Believe me, you won't be that way for much longer, Dragomon," Houdinimon retorted sinisterly.

"This is bad! That illusion of Puppetmon is really strong!" Tai admitted. "There's no way Dragomon can beat him and Houdinimon on her own. Agumon, can you digivolve to Metal Greymon? We can really use him right about now!"

"Okay, I'll try," Agumon replied. "Agumon digivolve to..." The yellow Digimon tried his hardest to digivolve, but nothing happened. "I'm sorry, Tai. I'm too hungry to digivolve."

"What about you, Gabumon?" Matt asked.

"I can't, Matt. I used up all my energy getting you and Marisa off the train," Gabumon reluctantly admitted.

Matt let out a frustrated sigh as he turned his attention to Marisa. "Marisa, maybe you should tell Dragomon to give up," he reluctantly suggested.

"What?" Marisa asked out of surprise.

"Marisa, you know that Dragomon doesn't stand a chance against Puppetmon and Houdinimon on her own," Matt explained. "She's your Digimon, so she'll listen to you."

Marisa looked down and stared at her tag and crest for a few moments. She then looked up at Dragomon, who was becoming exhausted from fighting Puppetmon and Houdinimon.

"I'm sorry, Matt, but I can't do that," Marisa replied.

"Why not?" Matt asked.

"I can't give up on Dragomon now. I know she can beat them," Marisa replied.

"Marisa, every Digimon has his limitations, and Dragomon has reached hers," Matt tried to explain to Marisa. "You have to tell her to back off, before she gets hurts even worse than she is now!"

"I know she can win, Matt. Dragomon has never let me down before. If she doesn't want to give up, then neither do I!" Marisa announced. The five Digi-Destined kids, Victor, and the four Digimon looked up at Dragomon, Puppetmon, and Houdinimon.

"You can do it, Dragomon! I trust you!" Marisa shouted to her Digimon. As soon as she said those words, Marisa's crest started to glow.

"No way!" Tai gasped.

"Marisa, your crest! It's glowing!" Matt shouted.

"What?" Marisa exclaimed as she looked down at her crest, which was indeed radiating a forest green light. Simultaneously, her digivice started vibrating like crazy and changed from white to forest green. A small smile appeared on Marisa's face as she looked up at Dragomon, who was bathed in a white light.

"Impossible! It can't happen, now not!" Houdinimon shouted as he shielded his eyes with his cape, while Puppetmon shielded his eyes with his sledgehammer.

"Dragomon digivolve to...Metal Dragomon!"

Marisa, along with the other kids and their Digimon, stared in awe at the newly digivolved Digimon. She looked a lot like Dragomon, but she was now over double her original size. A steel helmet covered the top of Metal Dragomon's head. Metal Dragomon's wings were now large metal sheets, which were similar to jet wings, and a pair of turbojet engines were attached to her back. Metal Dragomon's left arm was now a steel robotic arm, and steel plates covered her chest.

"Whoa! That's wicked!" Tai slowly exclaimed. The astonished look on Marisa's face soon became grim when she realized what had to be done.

"All right, Metal Dragomon! Time to teach Houdinimon a trick of our own!" Marisa shouted up to her Digimon.

"It'll be my pleasure!" Metal Dragomon admitted as she focused on the illusion of Puppetmon. "Dragon Fury!"

The steel chest plates opened up, releasing two large gray missiles, with the tips of the missiles shaped like deep violet dragon-heads. Before the missiles reached Puppetmon, the dragon-heads' mouths opened up and released massive blasts of fire.

"Ahh!" Puppetmon screamed as the fire completely engulfed him. While trying to beat out the fire surrounding him, Puppetmon completely forgot about the missiles that were still heading towards him.

"Puppetmon, you fool! Get out of the way!" Houdinimon shouted angrily.

Unfortunately, for Puppetmon, Houdinimon's warning came too late. The two missiles collided with Puppetmon, exploding into a gigantic fireball. When the fireball eventually burned away, there was nothing left of Houdinimon's illusion of his former pupil.

"That's...impossible!" Houdinimon gasped loudly out of shock. "Puppetmon was a Mega Digimon, let alone one of the Dark Masters! How could a newly evolved Ultimate Digimon defeat him?"

"Looks like the illusion isn't as strong as the original, huh, Houdinimon?" Metal Dragomon asked sarcastically. "Now, it's your turn! Mega Claw!" Her massive metal claw sprung out and struck Houdinimon square in the chest.

Houdinimon clutched his chest in pain and watched as Metal Dragomon's metal claw returned back to her robotic arm.

_The prophecy, it's true!_ Houdinimon thought. _In that case, I better not stay around!_

"I'm taking you down, Houdinimon!" Metal Dragomon shouted, bringing Houdinimon out of his thoughts.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but that's not going to happen! Time for my disappearing act! Hope you kiddies enjoyed the show!" Houdinimon shouted as he vanished into thin air.

"Houdinimon escaped!" Tai complained.

"I know, Tai, but he'll be back," Matt remarked.

"And we'll be ready for him. Right, Marisa?" T.K. asked. Marisa nodded as she watched Metal Dragomon land on the riverbank a safe distance away from them...

"I'm sorry, Marisa," Chamamon apologized.

"For what?" Marisa asked.

"For letting Houdinimon escape," Chamamon explained.

"It's not your fault, Chamamon. You did good out there today. I'm very proud of you," Marisa admitted as she hugged her Digimon.

"Thanks, Marisa," Chamamon admitted with a big grin. It was late at night, and the five Digi-Destined kids, their Digimon, and Victor were gathered around a roaring campfire on the riverbank.

"Hey, Marisa?" Tai asked.

"Yeah?" Marisa asked curiously.

"I'm sorry I didn't believe you about Houdinimon," Tai apologized.

"We're all sorry we didn't believe you," Matt added.

"It was a good thing you got your crest to glow, otherwise Dragomon wouldn't have digivolved to Metal Dragomon and scare away Houdinimon," Kari confessed.

"Yeah! Metal Dragomon was really awesome!" T.K. admitted.

"Did you hear that, Marisa? T.K. thought I was awesome!" Chamamon boasted proudly.

"You sure were, Chamamon," Marisa admitted with a small smile.

"There's just one thing that doesn't make any sense. How come you were the only one who could see Houdinimon, Marisa?" Matt asked.

"I honestly don't know, Matt," Marisa confessed openly.

"I think I do," Victor announced.

"What is it, Victor?" Tai asked curiously.

"There's been talk around the Digiworld, about a special Digi-Destined child that would come to our world one day," Victor explained. "This child would come to possess a special gift known in the Digiworld as the Digi-Sight."

"What's the Digi-Sight?" Marisa asked curiously.

"The Digi-Sight is a rare and special gift that very few Digimon possess. It allows them to see things that others wouldn't even notice," Victor explained.

"What kind of Digimon have this Digi-Sight?" Tai asked curiously.

"I don't know all of them, but I do know about one Digimon that has the Digi-Sight. I believe it's called a Nanmimon," Victor explained. The five kids and their Digimon gasped slightly when they heard this news.

"Nanmimon? That's Yuuchi's Digimon," Tai muttered thoughtfully.

"That would explain some things about Nanmimon, Tai. Yuuchi did tell us that Nanmimon had an uneasy feeling about the Digi-Carnival when Houdinimon set up that trap for us," Matt reminded Tai.

"There's one thing I don't get, Victor. If I do have this Digi-Sight, how come it didn't work sooner, like when we were at the Digi-Carnival?" Marisa asked.

"I don't know, Marisa," Victor admitted. "Maybe you had to spend some time in the Digiworld first before the Digi-Sight worked for you, since you're not a Digimon."

"I guess that makes sense," Marisa admitted.

"Was this the first time that you experienced the Digi-Sight, Marisa?" Victor asked.

"There was one other time," Marisa muttered thoughtfully. As she spoke, Marisa's mind went back to that day when she and the other Digi-Destined kids first encountered Cloakmon. "It happened a few days ago, before we were separated from each other by the Mamemon Brothers. We ran into this Digimon called Cloakmon, who tried to trick us by disguising himself as Matt. They might as well have been twins. No one could tell them apart. Then, something happened. For a split second, I saw Cloakmon in his true form and Matt standing right next to him."

"So that's how you did it," Matt realized.

Marisa slowly nodded her head in response. "It happened so quickly, I wasn't even sure that what I saw was for real. I just...followed my instincts."

"Well, it's a good thing you did," Tai admitted. Suddenly, Chamamon let out a loud yawn.

"You tired, Chamamon?" Marisa asked.

"Mm-hmm," Chamamon murmured drowsily with her eyes closed.

"I think that's a good idea for all of us," Marisa whispered.

"Why don't you kids get some sleep? I'll stay up and keep watch," Victor insisted.

"Thanks, Victor. Good night," Tai replied with a short yawn before he lied down on the ground next to Agumon and fell asleep, followed by Kari, Gatomon, T.K., Patamon, Matt, Gabumon, Marisa, and Chamamon...TO BE CONTINUED


	12. That Sinking Feeling

FROM THE DEPTHS

**Part 12: That Sinking Feeling  
**  
"Can we please slow down?" Marisa asked as she continued following her friends.

"We can't stop now," Tai revealed, who was leading Matt, T.K., Kari, Marisa, and their Digimon through the forest. "We need to find the rest of our friends before Armaggedamon does."

"Well, can't we take a quick break?" Marisa asked curiously. "We've been walking ever since we woke up this morning."

Tai looked behind him and noticed that Kari and T.K. were walking a bit sluggishly. "All right, then. Break time, everyone!" Tai announced. Everyone let out a deep exhausted sigh as they plopped down on the ground.

Marisa looked down at her lap, where Chamamon was lying fast asleep. "I'm worried about Chamamon, guys. She's been like this for almost a day now," Marisa reluctantly admitted. "Is this normal?"

"It's no big deal, Marisa," Tai told her. "Your Digimon's just wiped out from digivolving to Ultimate for the first time. Same thing happened to all our Digimon when they first digivolved to that level."

"Tai's right, Marisa," Agumon admitted.

"All Chamamon needs is plenty of rest and food, and she'll be just fine. You'll see," Gabumon added.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Marisa replied. Suddenly, Chamamon let out a loud yawn and slowly opened her eyes.

"Morning, sleepyhead," Marisa greeted as her Digimon let out another loud yawn.

"Good morning, Marisa," Chamamon mumbled sleepily.

"How are you feeling?" Marisa asked.

"Tired...and hungry," Chamamon admitted. "Do we have any food?"

"Hold on a second," Marisa replied as she dug into her pocket. She soon pulled out a small bag of cookies.

"I still have these cookies from the train. Here you go, Chamamon," Marisa announced as she opened the bag and fed the cookies to her Digimon, who quickly scarfed them down.

While the other kids and their Digimon were resting, Tai and Agumon were already on their feet, looking up at the several trees surrounding them.

"Okay, break's over, guys. Let's get going," Tai announced. Matt, T.K., Kari, Marisa, and their Digimon quickly stood up and followed Tai and Agumon until they reached a very steep hill.

"Looks like we got some climbing to do," Matt remarked.

"Come on, everyone!" Agumon exclaimed as he climbed up the hill with no problem. Gabumon and Gatomon soon followed Agumon up the steep hill.

"Hey, wait for me!" Patamon shouted as he flew up the hill after the three Digimon.

"Here, Kari, take my hand. I'll help you up," Tai instructed as he held his hand out to his little sister.

"Thanks, Tai," Kari admitted as she took Tai's hand.

As Tai and Kari slowly hiked up the hill, Matt asked, "You ready, T.K.?"

"Uh-huh," T.K. replied as he nodded his head.

"What about you, Marisa? Do you need any help?" Matt asked Marisa, realizing that she had to climb up the hill while carrying Chamamon.

"I don't think so, Matt," Marisa replied while looking up at the steep hill.

"You sure? I can always come back down and help you out," Matt offered.

"That's okay, Matt. I think I can manage," Marisa replied.

"Suit yourself," Matt muttered out loud as he carefully led T.K. up the hill.

"Yeah, sure, I can definitely do this by myself," Marisa muttered nervously to herself. "What was I thinking? I guess I have no choice now."

Marisa took in a deep breath before she started to climb the steep hill. She used one arm to grab bushes and trees to help pull herself up the hill while carrying Chamamon in the other arm.

"Come on, Marisa!" T.K. shouted to the pig-tailed girl.

"You can do it!" Kari added.

Encouraged by T.K. and Kari cheering her on, Marisa continued making her way up the tall steep hill. When she was only halfway up, Marisa slipped on a patch of wet leaves and fell. She would have slid all the way to the bottom if she didn't grab a sapling with her free hand.

"Marisa!" T.K. and Kari gasped simultaneously.

"Hold on!" Matt shouted as he slid down the hill on his feet. He skidded to a stop when he reached Marisa and Chamamon.

"Take my hand, Marisa. I'll help you up," Matt instructed as he held out his hand to her.

"Okay," Marisa reluctantly agreed as she let go of the sapling. Marisa screamed a bit when she found herself sliding down the hill again.

"I got you!" Matt shouted as he grabbed Marisa's arm, which stopped her from sliding down any further. With Matt's help, Marisa managed to stand up and they hiked up to the top of the hill together, where the others were waiting for them.

"Are you okay, Marisa?" T.K. asked.

"Yeah, I'm okay," Marisa replied. She looked over at Matt, who was brushing the dirt off of his jeans. "Thanks, Matt."

"It's no big deal, Marisa," Matt admitted as he stood up and joined Tai, Agumon, and Gabumon.

"Matt and Marisa, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" Tai muttered just loud enough for Matt to hear with a little smirk on his face.

"Cut it out, Tai! I don't have a crush on Marisa, okay?" Matt muttered through clenched teeth. "I was just helping her out. You would have done the same thing, right?"

"I would have, but you got to her first," Tai pointed out.

"Just leave it alone, okay, Tai?" Matt retorted a bit angrily as he stormed off into the forest, with Gabumon following him.

"Hey, Matt! Wait for us!" T.K. shouted as he ran after his older brother and Gabumon, with Patamon riding on top of his head.

"What's going on, Tai? Why did Matt run off like that?" Kari asked curiously as she, Gatomon, Marisa, and Chamamon joined Tai and Agumon.

"I don't know, Kari. It's kinda hard to tell with him," Tai lied.

"Well, we better go after them," Marisa interrupted. "We can't afford to lose anyone now, Tai."

"Marisa's right. Let's go!" Tai shouted as he, Agumon, Kari, Gatomon, Marisa, and Chamamon ran in the direction that Matt, Gabumon, T.K., and Patamon headed. After a minute or so of running, they finally caught up with Matt, T.K., and their Digimon.

"What's going on, Matt? Why did you two stop?" Tai asked curiously.

"Take a look for yourself!" Matt remarked as he pointed at the land in front of him. Tai, Kari, Marisa, and their Digimon looked up and gasped when they saw the huge muddy swamp in front of them, stretched out as far as the eye can see.

"Ugh!" Tai groaned out of disgust as he, Kari, Matt, T.K., Marisa, and their Digimon quickly covered their noses to block out the nasty decaying smells of the swamp.

"P.U.! What's that yucky smell?" T.K. asked curiously.

"Believe me, T.K., you don't wanna know!" Matt remarked.

"We have no choice. The quickest way is to cut through the swamp," Tai revealed.

"Well, if that's our only choice, then I guess we'll have to go through the swamp," Matt reluctantly admitted.

"Then let's get going," Tai announced as he started making his way through the swamp, followed by the other kids and Digimon.

"Uh-oh!" T.K. exclaimed as he pointed at a thick fog that started to roll into the swamp.

"We better hold hands, guys," Tai suggested. "That way, we don't lose each other." The other kids and their Digimon nodded in approval.

Tai reached behind him and grabbed Agumon's paw, who reached behind him and grabbed Gatomon's paw. Gatomon grabbed Kari's hand, Kari took T.K.'s hand, T.K. reached behind him and grabbed Gabumon's paw, and Gabumon took Matt's hand with his free paw.

"Here, Marisa. Take my hand," Matt instructed as he held out his free hand. When he didn't hear any response from Marisa or Chamamon, Matt turned around and gasped when he saw no one behind him.

"Tai, we gotta stop! Marisa and Chamamon are gone!" Matt shouted.

"What?" Tai, Kari, and T.K. gasped simultaneously as they and the Digimon stopped walking.

"Do you think she got lost?" T.K. asked worriedly.

"That's probably what happened," Tai muttered out loud.

"We have to find Marisa, Tai!" Kari pointed out as she looked up at her older brother.

"You're right, Kari. Come on, everyone," Tai announced as they started heading back the way they came to find Marisa and Chamamon...

"Chamamon, I think we're lost," Marisa muttered worriedly as she continued walking through the muddy swamp, with Chamamon in her arms.

"I could have told you that, Marisa," Chamamon remarked.

"Tai! Kari! Matt! T.K.! Can anyone hear me?" Marisa shouted. She soon reached a large clearing with a large patch of sand. The wet sand squished underneath her feet as Marisa stopped in the center of the clearing.

"Tai! Kari! Matt! T.K.!" Marisa shouted again. She was silent for a minute, hoping that she would hear one of her friends calling for her, but she heard absolutely nothing.

"Marisa, it might be my imagination, but either you're shrinking or the swamp's getting bigger!" Chamamon announced.

"What?" Marisa exclaimed as she looked down to see what Chamamon was talking about. She gasped when she noticed that the wet sand was up to her ankles. "Oh, no! It's quicksand!"

"Uh-oh! What are we going to do?" Chamamon asked worriedly.

"I don't know, but we have to get outta here!" Marisa shouted. She tried to move her feet, but that only made her sinker faster into the quicksand.

"SOMEBODY HELP ME!" Marisa shouted at the top of her lungs before she and Chamamon sank all the way down into the quicksand pit, with Marisa's tag and crest floating to the top...

"Marisa, wake up!" Chamamon shouted. Marisa slowly opened her eyes and looked up at Chamamon, who was sitting on her stomach.

"Chamamon, are you okay?" Marisa asked as she sat up.

"Uh-huh," Chamamon replied. Marisa looked around her and realized that she was in a dark, dank cave.

"How did we end up here, Chamamon? What happened to all of that quicksand?" Marisa asked curiously.

"It's up there," Chamamon replied as she looked up at the roof. Marisa followed Chamamon's gaze and gasped when she saw a large circle of quicksand suspended within the rock ceiling of the cave.

"That quicksand is plugging up a hole in the roof, kinda like a cork," Marisa muttered thoughtfully as she stood up and picked up her Digimon. "That must mean we're in some underground cave, Chamamon."

"Yeah, but how do we get back to the swamp and our friends?" Chamamon asked.

"I don't know, Chamamon," Marisa muttered worriedly as she looked around. She noticed a pale light coming from one end of the tunnel that she was in. "Hey, Chamamon, there's some light coming from over there. Maybe it's a way out!"

"Then what are we waiting for?" Chamamon asked.

Marisa quickly ran to the end of the tunnel, praying in her thoughts that she had found a way out. Unfortunately, her hopes were dashed when Marisa and Chamamon found themselves standing on the bank of a massive underground lake.

"I can't believe it! It's huge!" Marisa exclaimed as she stared at the never-ending pool of water.

"There has to be a way out, Marisa. All this water got in here somehow," Chamamon pointed out.

"You're right, Chamamon. If we follow the bank, we're sure to find a way out," Marisa suggested.

"Good idea," Chamamon admitted as Marisa started walking down the bank of the lake...

"I have to take a break, Chamamon," Marisa announced as she took in several small gasps of air. "It's been almost an hour and we haven't found anything."

"Yeah, I know, and this mist isn't helping one bit," Chamamon remarked as she looked out at the lake, where a thick mist had gathered and started to roll in towards them.

Marisa let out an exhausted sigh as she slumped down on the stone floor, with Chamamon sliding into her lap. While Marisa was resting, Chamamon looked at the cloud of mist that had gathered near them.

"Hmm?" Chamamon gasped when she heard a noise that sounded like soft footsteps. "Marisa, did you hear that?"

"Hear what, Chamamon?" Marisa asked curiously.

"Something's coming our way," Chamamon whispered. Marisa looked up and gasped when she saw a small shadow heading towards them.

"Don't worry, Marisa! I'll take care of it!" Chamamon proclaimed as she hopped out of Marisa's lap. "Chamamon digivolve to...Chamelamon."

"Be careful, Chamelamon," Marisa pleaded as Chamelamon stepped toward the creature hidden in the mist.

"Fire Spin!" Chamelamon shouted. The creature gasped loudly when he saw the spiral of fire heading towards him. He quickly jumped into the water, avoiding Chamelamon's attack.

"What was that, Chamelamon?" Marisa asked curiously as she stood up.

"I don't know, but whatever it was, it can't stay underwater for long," Chamelamon announced as she and Marisa carefully watched the surface of the water. "Unless it's part fish, it'll have to come back up for air."

Marisa and Chamelamon gasped when they saw a bunch of bubbles appear at the exact spot where the creature jumped in the water.

"Here it comes!" Chamelamon whispered. The two girls carefully watched as a head popped up at the surface of the water.

"Marisa? Chamelamon? Is that you?" a familiar voice asked. As the creature swam closer to the shore, Marisa and Chamelamon gasped when they recognized the white Digimon with a bright red-orange Mohawk and purple markings.

"Gomamon?" the two girls exclaimed simultaneously as Gomamon climbed onto the shore and shook off the excess water.

"That's me!" Gomamon remarked.

"I'm so sorry I attacked you, Gomamon," Chamelamon apologized. "I didn't know it was you."

"That's okay, Chamelamon. I didn't know who you two were until now," Gomamon admitted. "Joe's gonna be so happy when he finds out that you're down here!"

"Where is Joe?" Marisa asked curiously.

"This way. Follow me," Gomamon instructed as he headed down the shore. Marisa and Chamelamon followed Gomamon for about fifteen minutes until they reached a large boulder. Sitting on top of the boulder was Joe, who was lost in his own thoughts.

"Joe? Hey, Joe! Look who I found!" Gomamon announced as he, Marisa, and Chamelamon approached the boulder.

"Huh? Marisa! Chamelamon!" Joe exclaimed as he jumped off of the boulder.

"Hey, Joe. It's good to see you again," Marisa admitted.

"How did you get down here?" Joe asked curiously.

"Chamelamon and I fell through some quicksand and we ended up in this huge cave," Marisa replied. "How about you?"

"Same thing happened to me and Gomamon," Joe admitted.

"How long have you two been down here?" Chamelamon asked curiously.

"I'm not sure. It's kinda hard to keep track of time down here," Gomamon remarked.

Suddenly, there was a loud grumbling noise. Joe and Gomamon both turned red in the face when they realized that the noise was coming from their own stomachs.

"Sounds like someone's hungry," Chamelamon joked.

"Hold on a second. I got some food right here," Marisa announced as she reached into her pocket and pulled out two small bags of potato chips. "I know it's not much, but you guys need it more than we do."

"Thank you so much, Marisa," Joe confessed as Marisa handed him a bag of chips.

"Yeah, thanks, Marisa," Gomamon added as Marisa gave him the other bag. The two boys ripped open the bags and quickly downed the potato chips as though they hadn't eaten in days.

"That sure hit the spot!" Gomamon admitted with a satisfied sigh.

"Did you guys ever find a way out of here?" Marisa asked.

"No luck so far," Joe reluctantly admitted.

"Don't worry, Joe. Even if we don't find our way out, I know that someone will find us," Marisa revealed.

"How can you be so sure?" Joe asked curiously.

"Well, back up in the swamp, I was with Tai, Kari, Matt, and T.K. before I got separated from them and ended up down here," Marisa explained. "I'm sure they noticed that I'm gone and are looking for me right now."

"That's good to hear," Joe admitted.

"So, what do you think we should do?" Marisa asked.

"We should keep looking for a way out," Joe replied. "I felt a light breeze earlier coming from the lake, so the exit must be on the other side."

"It'll take forever to get to the other side of the lake!" Marisa exclaimed.

"Yeah, I know," Joe admitted. "What we need is a boat."

"I got an even better idea!" Gomamon announced as he jumped into the water. "Gomamon digivolve to...Ikkakumon!"

"That's a great idea!" Joe admitted as he climbed onto Ikkakumon's back. "Ikkakumon can carry us to the other side of the lake, and we'll be out of here in no time!"

"Are you sure Ikkakumon's up to it?" Marisa asked curiously.

"Of course he is! Aren't you, Ikkakumon?" Joe asked his Digimon.

"You bet I am, Joe," Ikkakumon replied.

"Well, okay," Marisa replied as she climbed onto Ikkakumon's back and sat down behind Joe, followed by Chamelamon.

"Hang on, everyone! Here we go!" Ikkakumon announced as he started swimming across the seemingly endless lake...

"MARISA! CHAMAMON!" Tai shouted at the top of his lungs as he walked through the swamp alongside Agumon. In the background, Matt, T.K., Kari, Gabumon, Patamon, and Gatomon were also calling out for the pigtailed girl and her Digimon.

"Marisa! Chamamon! Where are you?" Agumon shouted as he looked around. When Agumon looked down, he spotted some familiar tracks in the mud.

"Hey, Tai! I think I found Marisa's tracks!" Agumon announced. The other kids and their Digimon immediately stopped what they were doing and ran over to where Tai and Agumon were standing.

"These are definitely her tracks," Gabumon admitted.

"So she has to be nearby! MARISA!" T.K. shouted as he broke away from the group and ran further into the swamp, with Patamon flying behind him.

"T.K., wait!" Matt shouted as he ran after his little brother, followed by Gabumon. T.K. was so eager to find Marisa that he didn't notice the tree root sticking out of the ground.

"Look out, T.K.!" Patamon shouted when he saw the tree root in front of T.K. Unfortunately, Patamon's warning came too late.

T.K. let out a startled cry as his foot got caught in the tree root, causing him to fall towards a giant patch of wet sand. Suddenly, T.K. stopped falling just inches away from the wet sand when Matt grabbed T.K. by his backpack.

"You gotta be more careful, T.K.," Matt told his little brother as he pulled him back on the bank.

As Tai and Kari caught up with Matt, T.K., Gabumon, and Patamon, Tai noticed an old wood sign covered with vines a few feet away from the two brothers. Tai pulled the vines off of the sign and gasped slightly when he saw what was written on it.

"It's a good thing Matt caught you when he did, T.K.," Tai muttered out loud as he shook his head.

"Why is that, Tai?" Matt asked curiously.

"Because this sign says 'DANGER: QUICKSAND,' " Tai replied as he reluctantly showed Matt and T.K. the weatherworn sign.

T.K. started to cry when he realized what had happened to Marisa and Chamamon. "Are they...gone?" T.K. reluctantly asked.

"I don't know, T.K. I don't know," Matt whispered with a hint of sadness in his voice.

"Just because Marisa's tracks lead to this quicksand doesn't mean that she's gone forever," Kari pointed out.

"It doesn't?" T.K. asked as he wiped his eyes with his sleeve.

"Marisa could have made it to the other side, couldn't she, Tai?" Kari asked.

"I don't know, Kari. Maybe she did make it across," Tai muttered thoughtfully. Suddenly, the four kids and their Digimon heard some voices coming from the other side of the quicksand pit.

"That could be them! Come on, everyone!" Tai shouted as he ran along the bank of the quicksand pit. Agumon, Kari, Gatomon, Matt, Gabumon, T.K., and Patamon quickly ran after Tai as he followed the sound of the voices.

"Hold it, guys!" Tai whispered loudly as he skidded to a stop.

"Why did you stop?" Matt asked as he, T.K., Kari, and the Digimon caught up with Tai.

"Those voices I heard, they're nearby, but I don't think it's Marisa and Chamamon," Tai reluctantly revealed.

"Maybe it's someone who can help us, Tai," Kari suggested.

"They're coming from behind those bushes," Tai whispered as he, Kari, Matt, T.K., and their Digimon slowly crept up to the bushes.

"Gimme that!" a voice shouted.

"No way! It's mine!" a second voice shouted. Tai silently warned everyone to keep quiet as he slowly parted the bushes with his hands.

When Tai parted the bushes, the four kids and their Digimon could see two familiar Digimon fighting over something. One was a tall, thin green frog-like Digimon with webbed fingers and toes, bugged out eyes, and a yellow musical horn wrapped around his neck. The other was a small purple tadpole-like Digimon with four short legs and a large flat lavender tail.

"It's Gekomon and Otamamon!" Agumon whispered.

"Why are they fighting, Tai?" Kari asked.

"I don't know, Kari. I thought those Digimon were supposed to be friends. Hey!" Tai shouted loudly to the two Digimon.

Gekomon and Otamamon stopped fighting when they heard the familiar voice and turned around. They gasped out of surprise when they saw Tai, Kari, Matt, T.K., and their Digimon.

"Look! It's Tai and Agumon!" Gekomon exclaimed with his slobbering lisp.

"Hi, guys! We haven't seen you in a long time!" Otamamon added.

"Good to see you, too," Tai admitted as he and his friends joined Gekomon and Otamamon.

"What are you two fighting about?" Agumon asked curiously. "I thought you were friends."

"Well, we were taking a shortcut through the swamp when I found this pretty necklace!" Otamamon announced as he showed the four kids the necklace dangling from his neck. Tai, Kari, Matt, and T.K. gasped when they recognized Marisa's tag and crest.

"Where did you find this?" Tai asked curiously.

"It was floating on top of the quicksand, and since I found it, I get to keep it!" Otamamon announced.

"No way, Otamamon! I had to get it, so I should keep it!" Gekomon argued.

"That's not fair! You were the only one who could get it anyway because you have webbed toes!" Otamamon disagreed. "If I tried to get the necklace, I would have sunk like a rock!"

Gekomon and Otamamon looked up at the four kids and their Digimon and were surprised to see them all with sad faces.

"What's wrong?" Otamamon asked curiously.

"Why are you so sad?" Gekomon asked.

"That's not a necklace. It's a tag and crest that belonged to a friend of ours," Tai explained. "She got lost in the swamp and we were looking for her."

"Well, if it belongs to your friend, then we have no right to keep it," Otamamon admitted as he stepped forward and bowed his head down, allowing the tag to slide off his neck and drop to the ground. "You can give this back to your friend when you find her."

"Thanks, guys, but I don't think we'll ever be able to find her," T.K. confessed sadly as tears ran down his face.

"What are you talking about? Your friend is probably wandering around in the underground cave somewhere," Gekomon admitted.

"What underground cave?" Tai asked.

"That quicksand leads to a huge underground cave with an enormous lake," Otamamon explained.

"Then that means Marisa's alive?" T.K. asked with a hint of excitement as he wiped away his tears.

"Yeah...hopefully," Gekomon reluctantly admitted.

"What do you mean, hopefully?" Matt asked a bit suspiciously.

"There's a very dangerous Digimon called Pukumon that lives in the lake. He'll attack anyone who ends up down there," Gekomon explained.

"How powerful is this Pukumon?" Tai asked curiously.

"Very powerful, Tai. He's a Mega Digimon!" Otamamon revealed. The four Digi-Destined kids and their Digimon gasped loudly when they heard this news.

"We gotta help her, Tai!" Kari announced. Tai nodded his head in approval.

"Is the quicksand the only way to get into that cave?" Matt asked curiously.

"Uh-uh. There's a hidden entrance over there," Gekomon replied as he pointed to his left.

"Just follow us!" Otamamon instructed as he and Gekomon ran off into the swamp.

"Come on, guys! Let's go!" Tai shouted as he, Agumon, Kari, Gatomon, Matt, Gabumon, T.K., and Patamon followed Gekomon and Otamamon further into the swamp...

"Can you see anything yet, Joe?" Marisa asked Joe, who was looking over Ikkakumon's head at the water spread out all around them.

"Yeah, Marisa. In fact, I can see the other side now. We're almost there," Joe revealed. Suddenly, Ikkakumon jerked around violently, sending the two kids and Chamelamon to their knees.

"Did you hit something?" Chamelamon asked curiously.

"It's the other way around, Chamelamon! Something hit me!" Ikkakumon remarked.

"What if there's some bad Digimon in the lake?" Joe asked nervously.

As soon as Joe said that, a large round blue fish jumped into the air. The Digimon wore red gloves, complete with steel knuckles covered with sharp spikes, and a steel helmet that was also covered with spikes.

"Why did I have to open my big mouth?" Joe asked with a groan as the Digimon landed back in the water.

"That's Pukumon, a Mega mutant Digimon. He's very dangerous," Chamelamon explained. Just then, Pukumon jumped out of the water again and punched Ikkakumon in the face.

"Are you okay, Ikkakumon?" Joe asked out of concern.

"I'm okay, Joe," Ikkakumon replied as he quickly shook it off.

"Come on, Ikkakumon! Just try and hit me!" Pukumon taunted.

"Harpoon Torpedo!" Ikkakumon shouted, firing one of his torpedoes at Pukumon. The torpedo struck the Digimon right in the head, but it hardly fazed him.

"Uh-oh!" Ikkakumon gasped as he started to swim as fast as he could to get away from Pukumon. Unfortunately, Pukumon caught up with him and punched him in the face again, leaving a huge red mark on his face.

"What's the matter, blubber boy? Afraid to fight me?" Pukumon asked sarcastically.

"Joe, why isn't Ikkakumon fighting back?" Marisa asked.

"Because Ikkakumon doesn't want to risk getting us hurt," Joe reluctantly admitted.

"Don't worry, I'll take you two to the shore. That way, Ikkakumon and I can fight Pukumon," Chamelamon announced. "Chamelamon digivolve to...Dragomon!"

As soon as she finished digivolving, Dragomon hovered above Ikkakumon and scooped up Joe and Marisa in her arms.

"Hang on, you two!" Dragomon instructed the two children. Marisa and Joe both nodded in agreement as Dragomon headed towards the shore as fast as she could.

"I'll be back soon, Ikkakumon! Until then, hang in there!" Dragomon shouted back to Joe's Digimon, who was doing his best to fight off Pukumon.

"I'll try, Dragomon!" Ikkakumon admitted as he watched Dragomon fly towards the shore in the distance with her two passengers...

"It's gotta be around here somewhere," Gekomon muttered thoughtfully as he and Otamamon looked around the area. The two Digimon had led Tai, Kari, Matt, T.K., and their Digimon to a small clearing in the swamp.

"Don't tell me we're lost!" Matt retorted.

"Okay, we won't tell you that we're lost!" Otamamon replied nonchalantly. The four kids and their Digimon groaned loudly out of disappointment.

"Look! There it is!" Gekomon exclaimed as he pointed at a large tree stump a few yards away from them.

"But that's just an old tree stump," Kari pointed out as Gekomon ran to the tree stump.

"Don't forget: not everything's what it seems in the Digiworld," Otamamon announced as Gekomon pulled on a small twig on the side of the tree stump. The four kids and their Digimon gasped when a small section on the top of the tree stump sprung up like a trap door.

"This is the hidden entrance we told you guys about!" Gekomon admitted. Tai and Agumon approached the tree stump and looked down into the opening.

"It's a long way down," Agumon admitted as they looked at a dark gaping hole leading underground.

"Come on, guys! Let's go!" Gekomon shouted as he jumped into the hole, followed by Otamamon.

"I'll go first, okay?" Tai announced. Matt, T.K., and Kari silently nodded in approval. Tai took in a deep breath as he swung his legs into the gaping hole, while holding on to the edge of the tree stump.

"Okay, here I go!" Tai shouted as he let go of the tree stump and disappeared into the hole.

"Tai, wait for me!" Agumon shouted as he jumped in after his friend. Tai and Agumon found themselves sliding swiftly down a narrow spiraling rock tunnel.

"AHHHH!" Tai and Agumon screamed simultaneously as they sped down the slide. A few seconds later, the tunnel straightened out, and Tai and Agumon found themselves slowing down as they reached an even wider tunnel, where Gekomon and Otamamon were waiting for them.

"You guys okay?" Gekomon asked curiously when he noticed that Tai and Agumon were walking around a bit strangely.

"I'm fine, just a little dizzy," Agumon confessed as he held his head.

"Yeah, me, too," Tai admitted as he also held his head.

"Hey, Tai!" Kari shouted, whose voice echoed throughout the tunnel.

"What's going on down there?" Gatomon asked.

"We're fine, Kari!" Tai shouted. "Come on down here!"

"Is it safe?" Kari asked curiously.

"Don't worry, Kari! It's like going down a slide!" Tai shouted.

"Okay, Tai," Kari replied hesitantly. A few moments later, Tai, Agumon, Gekomon, and Otamamon could hear Kari and Gatomon's screams echoing off of the stone walls as they went down the spiraling slide.

"You all right, Kari?" Tai asked as he helped his sister stand up.

"Yeah, I'm okay," Kari replied.

"Gatomon, you don't look so good," Agumon pointed out when he noticed that Gatomon's face was a little green.

"Excuse me, but I think I'm gonna be sick!" Gatomon mumbled weakly as she quickly ran down the tunnel out of everyone's sight with her paw over her mouth.

"Don't hack up a furball, Gatomon!" Tai joked.

"Very funny, Tai," Gatomon retorted.

"WHOOOA!" Matt and Gabumon shouted as they took their turn down the slide.

"WHEE!" T.K. and Patamon shouted as they went down the slide after Matt and Gabumon.

"Wowee! That was fun!" Patamon exclaimed as he flew off of T.K.'s lap after they reached the bottom of the slide.

"Can we go again, Matt?" T.K. asked as Matt helped him stand up.

"Maybe later, T.K.," Matt replied. "Right now, we have to go find Marisa." T.K. nodded his head in approval as the four kids and the six Digimon headed down the tunnel.

"Hey, I just thought of something. How are we going to get out of here after we find Marisa?" Tai asked.

"There's another tunnel that leads back up to the surface," Otamamon explained.

"So why didn't we go that way instead of going down that crazy slide?" Matt asked.

"Well, first of all, the entrance to that tunnel is all the way on the other side of the swamp," Gekomon explained.

"And second, going down the slide is much more fun!" Otamamon added.

"It sure was!" T.K. agreed as he and Patamon both nodded their heads in agreement.

As the group of ten walked down the tunnel, Tai took out his digivice to see if he could pick up Marisa's signal. "That's weird," Tai muttered out loud.

"What's weird, Tai?" Matt asked curiously.

"Either my digivice is broken, or Marisa's not alone," Tai revealed. "I'm picking up two signals."

"Let's hurry up and find out who else is down here," Matt suggested.

The other kids and the Digimon nodded their heads in approval as they all ran down the tunnel. A few minutes later, the group of ten reached a huge underground lake blanketed in mist.

"Which way, Tai?" Matt asked Tai, who was studying his digivice.

"That way!" Tai announced, pointing to his left.

Before they could get moving, T.K. shouted, "Wait!"

"What's the matter, T.K.?" Matt asked.

"I heard something, out there," T.K. revealed as he pointed out at the lake.

Matt, Tai, Kari, and the Digimon looked out at the lake and could see two dark figures fighting each other. Tai took out his mini-telescope and focused it on the two figures in the distance.

"Who is it, Tai?" Kari asked curiously.

"I can't tell...Wait a minute! That looks like Ikkakumon out there!" Tai announced.

"Ikkakumon?" Gabumon repeated.

"Then that means Joe is down here, too," Matt realized.

"Who's Ikkakumon fighting, Tai?" Agumon asked.

"I'm not sure, Agumon," Tai replied as he continued to watch the fight through his mini-telescope. "I've never seen this Digimon before."

"What does he look like, Tai?" Otamamon asked.

"It's this big blue fish with spikes on his head," Tai replied.

"It's Pukumon!" Gekomon and Otamamon gasped simultaneously.

"Lookit! There's Dragomon!" T.K. announced as he pointed at the dragon-type Digimon flying towards the battle.

"If what you guys said about Pukumon is true, then Ikkakumon and Dragomon are gonna need our help!" Tai muttered out loud.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Matt asked. "Let's go!"

"Right!" Tai agreed as he, Kari, Matt, T.K., and the six Digimon ran down the bank...

"Please hurry, Dragomon! Ikkakumon needs your help!" Marisa shouted as she stood on the bank with Joe. Dragomon nodded her head as she made her way back towards Ikkakumon and Pukumon.

"Inferno Blast!" Dragomon shouted. Pukumon became engulfed in the blast of fire from Dragomon's attack.

"Thanks for the help, Dragomon," Ikkakumon admitted.

"You'll have to do better than that to take out Pukumon!" Pukumon shouted as he jumped out of the ball of fire unscathed. "Needle Squall!"

Pukumon inflated himself like a blowfish until he was well over triple his size, with several long blue needles poking out of his skin. In an instant, Pukumon quickly deflated himself, releasing all of the needles at Dragomon and Ikkakumon, striking them all over their bodies.

"This is not good!" Joe reluctantly admitted. "Ikkakumon and Dragomon can't stop Pukumon on their own! He's too powerful!"

"Maybe they can. Dragomon, digivolve!" Marisa shouted. Joe gave Marisa a surprised look.

"What? Dragomon can digivolve to Ultimate?" Joe asked out of shock.

"Yes, she can, Joe. Dragomon digivolved to Metal Dragomon just yesterday," Marisa admitted.

"Something's wrong, Marisa! I can't digivolve!" Dragomon revealed as she tried to digivolve with no luck.

I don't get it, Joe. Dragomon should be able to digivolve," Marisa muttered to herself with a frown. She looked down for a moment and gasped when she saw that she was missing something.

"Oh, no! My tag and crest are gone! I must have lost them in the quicksand!" Marisa gasped loudly.

"This is bad, this is really bad," Joe muttered nervously as he shook his head. Suddenly, Pukumon jumped up high in the air and slugged Dragomon hard in the face.

"Dragomon, no!" Marisa cried out as she watched her Digimon fall towards the water.

Before hitting the water, Dragomon became bathed in a white light and de-digivolved back to Chamelamon. The little lizard-type Digimon hit the water with a loud splash. Chamelamon came back up to the surface of the water, flailing her legs about as she struggled to stay afloat.

"Hang on, Chamelamon!" Marisa shouted. "We gotta do something, Joe! Chamelamon's so weak that she can't even swim back to shore."

"Ikkakumon, you have to help Chamelamon!" Joe shouted to his Digimon.

"I'm a little busy, Joe!" Ikkakumon shouted as he barely dodged one of Pukumon's punches. Suddenly, to Marisa and Joe's surprise, a flying figure skimmed over the surface of the water and scooped up Chamelamon in his arms.

"What was that?" Joe asked.

"I don't know, but it looked kinda familiar," Marisa muttered thoughtfully.

"Yeah, I think I've seen that Digimon before, too," Joe admitted.

Marisa and Joe carefully took a couple of steps back when they saw the Digimon that saved Chamelamon flying towards them. As the Digimon landed on the bank, Joe and Marisa gasped slightly when they recognized the angel-type Digimon.

"Angemon!" the two children exclaimed.

"I believe this belongs to you, Marisa," Angemon announced as he gently handed a soaked Chamelamon to Marisa.

"Thanks, Angemon," Marisa replied.

"If Angemon is here, then that means..." Joe muttered thoughtfully.

Joe was suddenly interrupted by Tai shouting, "Marisa! Joe! Over here!"

Marisa and Joe looked up and smiled a bit when they saw their friends and their Digimon running towards them, along with Gekomon and Otamamon.

"Hey, guys!" Joe greeted happily.

"Hey, Joe. Hey, Marisa," Tai greeted as he, Kari, Matt, T.K., and the six Digimon reached Joe and Marisa.

"Thanks so much, T.K. If it wasn't for you, I don't know what would have happened to Chamelamon," Marisa admitted as she bent down and gave T.K. a hug.

"That's okay, Marisa. I was glad to help," T.K. replied as Marisa let go of him.

"Speaking of help, I better get back out there and help Ikkakumon!" Angemon announced as he flew back over the lake towards the ongoing battle.

"I'll help out, too, Angemon!" Gatomon shouted.

"Count me in, too!" Gabumon added. "Gabumon digivolve to...Garurumon!"

"Gatomon digivolve to...Angewomon!"

"We're coming, Ikkakumon!" Garurumon shouted as he jumped into the water and swam towards Ikkakumon and Pukumon, followed by Angewomon flying overhead.

"Hand of Fate!" Angemon shouted.

"Howling Blaster!" Garurumon shouted.

"Celestial Arrow!" Angewomon shouted.

The three attacks struck Pukumon simultaneously, causing a massive column of water to shoot up in the air. When the column of water came crashing back down, Pukumon was nowhere in sight.

"Thanks for the help," Ikkakumon admitted as he looked up at Garurumon, Angemon, and Angewomon.

"Don't thank us just yet, Ikkakumon," Angewomon announced as she pointed at a patch of bubbles coming up to the surface. The four Digimon gasped when Pukumon jumped out of the water.

"You fools will never defeat me! Globefish Poison!" Pukumon shouted. He spat out several dark violet-gray bubbles at Ikkakumon, Garurumon, Angemon, and Angewomon.

"Ahh! My eyes!" Ikkakumon shouted out of pain as two of the bubbles struck him in the eyes.

"Those bubbles have poison in them! Watch out!" Angemon shouted as he and Angewomon flew out of the way of the poisonous bubbles, while Garurumon dove underwater to avoid the toxic bubbles.

"Look out, Ikkakumon!" Angewomon shouted when she saw Pukumon sneaking up on the blinded Digimon.

"Where is he? I can't see him!" Ikkakumon shouted as he turned his head back and forth.

All of a sudden, Ikkakumon was punched hard in the face by Pukumon's fist, causing him to fall backwards into the water, hitting it with a huge splash.

"No! Ikkakumon!" Joe shouted. Suddenly, at that moment, Joe's Digimon became engulfed in a brilliant white light.

"Ikkakumon digivolve to...Zudomon!"

"Whoa!" Marisa gasped slightly as she stared out at the enormous gray walrus-type Digimon standing in the water where Ikkakumon once was. He had bright red-orange fur covering his paws, long white claws, a jagged white horn on top of his head, and a huge dark green turtle shell with spikes on his back. Zudomon also carried a massive metal hammer in his paw.

"Let's get him, guys! Vulcan's Hammer!" Zudomon shouted. He took his massive hammer and slammed it hard in the water, creating a beam of yellow energy.

"Hand of Fate!" Angemon shouted.

"Celestial Arrow!" Angewomon shouted.

"Howling Blaster!" Garurumon shouted. All four attacks struck Pukumon simultaneously, creating a huge explosion in the water.

"That did it!" Zudomon admitted.

"Then again, maybe not!" Garurumon announced as Pukumon came back up to the surface.

"You may have won this battle, but I'll be back!" Pukumon proclaimed as he dove back underwater and disappeared.

"Oh, no! He escaped!" Zudomon complained.

"I have a feeling we haven't seen the last of him!" Garurumon growled...

"Are we there yet?" Tai asked a bit impatiently as he and his friends continued to follow Gekomon and Otamamon down a dark tunnel.

"Just a little bit further, Tai," Gekomon replied. As the five kids and the seven Digimon walked down the tunnel, they noticed that the tunnel was getting lighter.

"There's the way out!" Otamamon announced as they soon reached an opening leading into a forest.

"It's good to be back on solid ground!" Joe admitted as he left the tunnel with the other kids and Digimon. Following closely behind Joe was a small gray Digimon that looked like a small seal with a white belly, blue eyes, and a spurt of bright red-orange hair sticking up on top of his head.

"What do you think, Bukamon?" Joe asked the small gray Digimon.

"Couldn't agree with you more, Joe?" Bukamon agreed as he took in a deep breath of air.

"Excuse me, Gekomon, Otamamon, but do you know the way back to that quicksand pit?" Marisa asked curiously. "I lost something back there."

"You talking about this, Marisa?" Matt asked as he pulled Marisa's tag and crest out of his pocket. Marisa gasped slightly when she saw that Matt had the tag and crest that she lost back in the swamp.

"Thank you so much, Matt!" Marisa replied as she took her tag and crest back from Matt and put it around her neck.

"You should be thanking Gekomon and Otamamon, Marisa. They're the ones who found it," Matt admitted.

"Thanks, Gekomon and Otamamon," Marisa told the two Digimon.

"You two helped us out a lot today," Tai added. "We couldn't have found Marisa and Joe without you."

"Thanks, Tai!" Gekomon admitted as his cheeks turned red with embarrassment, along with Otamamon.

"We were just glad that we could help you guys out," Otamamon announced.

"We better get going, Otamamon," Gekomon revealed. "It's getting late. This swamp can be spooky at night."

"We should get going, too," Joe suggested a bit nervously. "I don't want to stay here for another minute!" The other kids and Digimon laughed a bit.

"I guess we can't blame you for that, Joe," Marisa agreed.

"Well, we better go now. Goodbye, Gekomon! Goodbye, Otamamon!" Tai shouted as he and his friends waved to the two Digimon before they left...TO BE CONTINUED


	13. The TeenyDestined

FROM THE DEPTHS

**Part 13: The Teeny-Destined  
**  
"Come here, Minotaurmon!" Armaggedamon commanded, who was sitting on his throne. The Digimon standing in the dark hallway quickly moved out of the way of the huge bull-type Digimon as he walked towards Armaggedamon's throne.

"You wish to speak to me, Armaggedamon?" Minotaurmon asked as he knelt down and bowed to Armaggedamon.

"Despite the valiant effort by the Mamemon Brothers to separate the Digi-Destined, those bothersome children are starting to find each other," Armaggedamon muttered angrily. "Cloakmon recently reported to me that six of the children are back together, including that pesky girl with the Digi-Sight!"

"You mean the one described in the prophecy? The one who will defeat Houdinimon?" Minotaurmon asked curiously.

"Unfortunately, yes," Armaggedamon reluctantly revealed. The other Digimon in the room gasped loudly out of shock when they heard this unexpected news. "Fortunately, according to Cloakmon, this girl isn't aware of the prophecy at all. This will give us the opportunity to finish her off before she gets the chance to take out my most valued servant."

"What do you want me to do for you, Armaggedamon?" Minotaurmon asked.

"According to my sources, two of the Digi-Destined will soon reunite with each other: the girl with the Biyomon and the boy with the Nanmimon," Armaggedamon explained. "I want you to capture them for me, Minotaurmon, and put all four of them under glass."

"Not to offend you, Armaggedamon, but that sounds impossible," Minotaurmon hesitantly pointed out. "The Digi-Destined and their Digimon are not small enough to fit under glass."

"They will be when you use this," Armaggedamon explained as he tossed a small black pouch to Minotaurmon. The Digimon caught the pouch in his large paw and opened it up, pulling out a pair of long crystals. One crystal was pale yellow in color, while the other crystal was tinted aqua blue.

"What are these for, Armaggedamon?" Minotaurmon asked curiously.

"Those rare crystals have special powers," Armaggedamon explained. "The yellow crystal has the power to shrink anything, and the blue crystal can reverse the effects of the yellow crystal, but that only happens when the rays of the sun are reflected through them."

"But what about the other Digi-Destined, Armaggedamon?" Minotaurmon asked.

"There is no need to worry about them, Minotaurmon. Cloakmon is still watching the six Digi-Destined that have already gotten back together, and I have several of my hench-mon searching for the other children as we speak," Armaggedamon explained.

Minotaurmon looked at the crystals in his paw before he put them back in the black pouch. "I will not let you down, Armaggedamon!" Minotaurmon vowed as he attached the pouch to his belt.

"You better not fail me, Minotaurmon, or you'll be spending some time in the dungeon!" Armaggedamon reminded Minotaurmon…

"Have you picked up anything on your digivice yet, Sora?" Birdramon asked her human partner. The bird-type Digimon was flying over a seemingly endless forest. Sora was riding on one of Birdramon's clawed feet, staring intensely at her digivice for any sign of her friends.

"Nothing yet, Birdramon," Sora reluctantly admitted with a frustrated sigh. "There's got to be someone nearby. I could have sworn I saw another bubble pass us a few days ago." She gasped slightly when a red dot suddenly appeared on the digivice.

"Birdramon, I found someone!" Sora exclaimed happily.

"That's great, Sora. Which way?" Birdramon asked curiously.

"That way!" Sora shouted, pointing straight ahead…

Not too far away from where Sora and Birdramon were, Yuuchi and Nanmimon were walking along a dirt path in the forest.

"It's so quiet out here, Nanmimon. I don't like it," Yuuchi muttered out loud. Nanmimon grinned at his partner and shook his head.

"I feel sorry for whoever we meet first. You'll probably talk their head off!" Nanmimon joked teasingly.

"Knock it off, Nanmimon!" Yuuchi muttered through clenched teeth as he glared down at the pony-type Digimon. Just then, the two friends were suddenly blanketed in a dark shadow.

"What is this, an eclipse?" Yuuchi asked curiously as he looked up.

"I'm not sure, Yuuchi. What's an eclipse?" Nanmimon asked curiously.

Yuuchi and Nanmimon watched the dark figure as it flew high above them.

"Hey! That's not an eclipse! It looks more like a Digimon!" Yuuchi realized.

"That's not just any Digimon, Yuuchi. It looks like Birdramon," Nanmimon pointed out.

"It is Birdramon! And there's Sora! Hey, guys, down here!" Yuuchi shouted as he ran after Birdramon, frantically waving his arms to get their attention.

"Over here, Sora! Birdramon!" Nanmimon shouted.

"Look, Birdramon! It's Yuuchi and Nanmimon!" Sora shouted, recognizing the blonde-haired, green-eyed boy and his pony-type Digimon running after them.

"Hold on, Sora!" Birdramon instructed as she started to descend into the forest.

Yuuchi and Nanmimon stopped running and watched as Birdramon circled around a clearing not too far away from them and landed on the bare ground. After Sora climbed off of her foot, Birdramon de-digivolved back to Biyomon.

"I knew there had to be someone down here," Sora boasted proudly as she watched Yuuchi and Nanmimon walk over to her and Biyomon.

"That was so close! I thought you guys wouldn't hear us. I am so glad to see you again, Sora!" Yuuchi openly confessed with a relieved grin on his face.

"I'll warn you now, Sora, he'll probably talk your head off!" Nanmimon warned Sora with a small smirk.

"Nanmimon..." Yuuchi warned Nanmimon as he glared at him once again.

Sora giggled a little bit at the two boys' antics. "Well, I guess you guys haven't found anyone, have you?"

Yuuchi shook his head no in response. "Nope, sorry. You're the first one I've seen since we got separated by those Mamemon Brothers. What about you, Sora? Have you seen anyone?"

"No, we haven't seen anyone else either, Yuuchi," Biyomon replied as Sora shook her head no.

Yuuchi frowned a bit out of disappointment. "What should we do next? We should probably find the others first, huh?"

Sora nodded her head in approval. "That's a good idea, Yuuchi. But where do we start looking?"

"Sorry to disappoint you, but you'll never get the chance to find your friends!" a deep voice boasted from somewhere in the forest, followed by a sinister chuckle. Sora, Yuuchi, Biyomon, and Nanmimon were startled to hear the strange voice.

"W-Who was that?" Nanmimon asked nervously.

"I don't know, Nanmimon, but I doubt it's someone we know!" Yuuchi remarked.

"Maybe you don't know me, but I'm sure some of your friends would recognize me!" the deep voice announced. Sora, Biyomon, Yuuchi, and Nanmimon gasped when they saw the tall bull-type Digimon heading towards them.

"Uh-oh! It's Minotaurmon!" Biyomon gasped.

"That's the same Digimon that Matt and Marisa ran into underground when we first arrived at Server!" Sora realized.

"Congratulations! Here's your prize!" Minotaurmon retorted sarcastically as he reached for the black pouch attached to his belt.

"Come on, Nanmimon! We gotta stop him!" Biyomon announced.

"I'm right behind you, Biyomon!" Nanmimon shouted as he and Biyomon charged towards Minotaurmon.

"Spiral Twister!" Biyomon shouted.

"Psybeam!" Nanmimon shouted. The two attacks struck Minotaurmon in the stomach, pushing him back a few feet.

"That was pathetic! I'll show you a real attack! Blind Rage!" Minotaurmon shouted as he quickly pulled out his ax and swung it at the Digimon, creating a boomerang of yellow energy. Biyomon and Nanmimon screamed out of pain as the boomerang of yellow energy struck them both simultaneously, sending them sailing further into the forest.

"Biyomon, no!" Sora shouted.

"Nanmimon!" Yuuchi shouted.

"Now, to take care of you two," Minotaurmon muttered out loud as he removed the yellow crystal from the black pouch and held it high above his head. The sunlight shone through the crystal, forming a beam of white light.

Yuuchi turned around and gasped when he saw the strange white light. "Sora, look out!" Before the two kids could even move, the white light suddenly engulfed both of them.

"I feel kinda weird," Sora mumbled weakly as she held her head in her hand.

"Yeah, me, too," Yuuchi muttered out loud as he looked around at Minotaurmon and the surrounding forest through squinted eyes. "Everything's...growing? Totally freaky!"

"Umm, Yuuchi, I think you got it backwards!" Sora stuttered out of shock.

Yuuchi looked around once again, his green eyes widening out of surprise when he realized what was really happening to him and Sora. "Oh, no! We're shrinking!"

Sora and Yuuchi watched helplessly as they quickly shrunk down to the point where even the grass was taller than them. The two Digi-Destined kids soon stopped shrinking, now barely an inch tall.

"I can't believe this is happening! How did Minotaurmon do this to us?" Sora asked in a high-pitched voice.

"I'll bet it had something to do with that weird crystal he had, Sora," Yuuchi muttered thoughtfully, whose voice had also become high-pitched from the shrinking process. Suddenly, the two kids were knocked down to the ground by what felt like a powerful wind.

"What was that?" Sora asked as she and Yuuchi slowly lifted their heads. The two Digi-Destined kids saw an enormous pink bird and a peach-colored pony towering over them.

"It's Biyomon and Nanmimon!" Yuuchi exclaimed.

"BIYOMON! DOWN HERE!" Sora shouted at the top of her lungs while frantically waving her arms in the air. To her surprise, Biyomon didn't respond to her at all.

"I don't think this is gonna work, Sora. We're too small for them to hear us," Yuuchi reluctantly admitted.

"SORA! WHERE ARE YOU?" Biyomon shouted, which was almost deafening to Sora and Yuuchi.

"Keep it down, Biyomon!" Sora shouted as she and Yuuchi covered their ears.

"Sora, we're too small! She can't hear you!" Yuuchi reminded Sora.

"What did you do with our friends, Minotaurmon?" Nanmimon demanded.

"That's for me to know, and you'll never find out!" Minotaurmon retorted with an evil laugh.

"Yuuchi, run!" Sora shouted when she saw Nanmimon lift his massive hoof up in the air. Sora and Yuuchi ran as fast as they could out of the way of the descending hoof, which was just inches away from crushing them.

"Man, I never thought I'd be running away from my own Digimon!" Yuuchi remarked.

"This way, Yuuchi!" Sora shouted as she ran towards a huge gnarled tree root sticking out of the ground a few yards away from them. Yuuchi nodded as he followed Sora to the tree root, getting out of the way of Nanmimon as fast as he could.

"Psybeam!" Nanmimon shouted as he continued charging at Minotaurmon.

"Spiral Twister!" Biyomon shouted. Minotaurmon simply blocked the Digimon's attacks with his ax.

"I don't have time to waste with you two weaklings!" Minotaurmon retorted.

"Weaklings? I'll show you who's a weakling! Psybeam!" Nanmimon shouted. The beam of energy struck Minotaurmon's belt, cutting off the black pouch with the two crystals inside.

"Now look what you did!" Minotaurmon shouted angrily. He quickly bent down and picked up the black pouch. "See you weaklings later!" Minotaurmon let out a sinister laugh as he left Biyomon and Nanmimon in the forest.

"We gotta hurry and find him, Biyomon, so we can find out what happened to our friends," Nanmimon revealed as he started to head in the same direction Minotaurmon went.

"No, wait a minute, Nanmimon!" Biyomon shouted.

"What is it, Biyomon?" Nanmimon asked as he turned around.

"Look at this. I think Minotaurmon dropped it," Biyomon replied as she showed Nanmimon the yellow crystal that was lying on the ground where Minotaurmon was standing earlier.

"What's it for?" Nanmimon asked curiously as Biyomon picked up the crystal with her paw.

"I'm not sure, Nanmimon," Biyomon replied as she held it up in the sunlight to see it better.

Suddenly, a beam of white light came out of the crystal and struck a large boulder. To Biyomon and Nanmimon's surprise, the boulder rapidly shrunk down to the size of a pebble.

"I think I know what happened to Yuuchi and Sora," Nanmimon realized as he blinked a bit out of astonishment. Biyomon slowly nodded her head in agreement.

"Come on, we better follow Minotaurmon," Biyomon suggested.

"But what about our friends, Biyomon?" Nanmimon asked.

"Minotaurmon probably has them already. We better hurry or we're gonna lose them. Come on!" Biyomon shouted as she flew off in the same direction that Minotaurmon went. Nanmimon frowned a bit as he followed Biyomon deeper into the forest.

"Look, Yuuchi, they're leaving. Let's try to follow them," Sora suggested.

"All right, Sora," Yuuchi reluctantly agreed, although he knew it wasn't going to be easy. "This is weird. Nothing normal ever happens around here, does it?" he asked as he followed Sora.

"Not really, Yuuchi. Don't forget: anything can happen in the Digiworld," Sora reminded Yuuchi.

"Tell me about it!" Yuuchi retorted. Sora giggled a little bit at Yuuchi's remark as they continued making their way through the forest of tall grass.

"What the heck is that?" Yuuchi asked, pointing at a thick green stalk that was much taller than the surrounding grass. "It's as big as a tree!"

"It looks like a flower, but to us, it might as well be a tree," Sora replied as she and Yuuchi approached the thick, tall flower stalk.

"I'm gonna climb up there and see if I can see our Digimon," Yuuchi announced as he stepped closer to the huge flower, wrapped his arms around the thick green stalk, and started to climb up the flower stalk.

"Be careful, Yuuchi!" Sora shouted as she watched Yuuchi make his way up the flower stalk. Yuuchi didn't even get halfway up the stalk when it suddenly started to sway back and forth from the excess weight.

"Maybe this wasn't such a hot idea!" Yuuchi shouted as he tightly wrapped his arms and legs around the stalk as it started to bend towards the ground below.

"Hang on, Yuuchi!" Sora shouted as she ran after the teetering stalk. Suddenly, the stalk stopped just inches away from the ground.

"You can let go now, Yuuchi," Sora told Yuuchi, who had his eyes closed tightly. Yuuchi slowly opened his eyes and realized that Sora was right.

"I knew that," Yuuchi lied as he carefully unwrapped his legs from the stalk and slowly placed his feet on the ground. As soon as Yuuchi let go of the stalk, it rapidly swung back and forth like a catapult.

"I guess that wasn't such a good idea after all," Yuuchi reluctantly admitted.

"You got that right, Yuuchi," Sora agreed. Suddenly, Sora and Yuuchi found themselves encased in a huge column of thick glass.

"What's going on?" Yuuchi asked as he banged on the glass with his fists.

"Yuuchi, look!" Sora gasped loudly as she pointed up. Yuuchi looked up to see what Sora was pointing at and gasped when he saw Minotaurmon grinning sinisterly at them.

"Minotaurmon!" Yuuchi exclaimed loudly.

"Did you think I forgot about you Teeny-Destined?" Minotaurmon asked sarcastically with a sinister chuckle as he lifted the thick glass column, which turned out to be a glass jar. Minotaurmon quickly grabbed Sora and Yuuchi with his paw and dropped them into the glass jar.

"Ahh!" Sora and Yuuchi screamed as they plummeted into the giant glass jar until they hit the bottom. Minotaurmon snickered evilly to himself as he screwed the metal lid onto the jar, which had a few air holes poked into it.

"Hey, let us outta here!" Yuuchi shouted loudly as he banged his fists against the glass wall of the jar that he and Sora were now imprisoned in.

"I don't think that's gonna work, Yuuchi," Sora reluctantly admitted.

"Armaggedamon will be pleased when I bring him two Digi-Destined children under glass!" Minotaurmon boasted as he started to head deep into the forest.

"Did you hear that, Biyomon?" Nanmimon whispered, who was concealed behind a nearby bush with Sora's Digimon.

"We better follow him so we can get our friends back!" Biyomon announced.

"But how do we unshrink them, Biyomon?" Nanmimon asked. "I didn't exactly see a reverse switch on that crystal that Minotaurmon dropped!"

"We'll have to worry about that later, Nanmimon. Right now, we have to get our friends back from Minotaurmon!" Biyomon pointed out.

"You're right, Biyomon. We'll find a way to return our friends to normal, but for now, let's get them out of Minotaurmon's clutches!" Nanmimon announced.

"Come on! Let's go before we lose them!" Biyomon shouted as she flew into the forest after Minotaurmon, followed by Nanmimon...

"Armaggedamon, come in," Minotaurmon spoke into his black walkie-talkie. It was nighttime, and Minotaurmon was sitting in front of a campfire in a small clearing. Right next to him was the glass jar that held Sora and Yuuchi prisoner.

"What is it, Minotaurmon?" Armaggedamon asked through the walkie-talkie.

"I have the two Digi-Destined children under glass, Armaggedamon, just as you asked for," Minotaurmon revealed.

"Excellent. What about their Digimon?" Armaggedamon asked.

"I'm afraid I lost them," Minotaurmon reluctantly admitted.

"No need to worry about them, Minotaurmon. With the children as little as they are, their digivices are too small to allow their Digimon to digivolve," Armaggedamon explained.

"I shall be heading back to headquarters in the morning. Minotaurmon out," Minotaurmon reported before turning off the walkie-talkie. He lifted the glass jar and stared at Sora and Yuuchi, who were sitting on the bottom of the jar, with his huge brown eyes. "You two should be honored. You will be the first among your friends to be destroyed by Armaggedamon."

"Gee, thanks a lot for the good news!" Yuuchi retorted. Minotaurmon sneered a bit as he placed the jar back down and reached for the black pouch resting next to the jar.

"Uh-oh!" Minotaurmon muttered to himself when he felt only one crystal in the pouch. "If Armaggedamon finds out that I lost one of these rare crystals, I'll never hear the end of it! I better find it now before I leave for Armaggedamon's headquarters tomorrow."

Minotaurmon opened the black pouch and peaked inside for a moment. "I'm missing that yellow crystal, the one that does the shrinking. I still have the one that reverses the shrinking, but Armaggedamon will kill me if I only bring back one crystal," he muttered to himself. Minotaurmon glanced down at the glass jar as he stood up.

"They should be fine here. It's not like they can break out of that jar on their own!" Minotaurmon chuckled sinisterly to himself as he left the small campsite, leaving the black pouch next to the glass jar.

"He's gone, Sora. Now's our chance to escape," Yuuchi announced as he stood up.

"But how are we going to get out of here, Yuuchi?" Sora asked curiously.

"I got an idea. Help me push," Yuuchi requested as he started to push as hard as he could against the glass wall of the jar. Sora quickly stood up and helped Yuuchi push against the glass wall. Unfortunately, the two Digi-Destined kids only succeeded in knocking the glass jar on its side.

"Well, that was a great plan, Yuuchi!" Sora retorted under her breath as she struggled to stand on the slippery curved glass underneath her.

"I never said it was a perfect plan, Sora!" Yuuchi confessed as he slowly walked to the metal lid, with his arms stretched out to help keep his balance.

"Whoa!" Yuuchi shouted as he slipped on the glass and fell on his back. "Yuuchi! Are you okay?" Sora asked as she crawled over to where Yuuchi was.

"Yeah, I think so," Yuuchi muttered out loud as he sat up and rubbed the back of his head.

"Look, there they are!" Sora and Yuuchi heard a familiar voice whisper loudly.

"That sounds like Biyomon!" Sora whispered a bit excitedly as she and Yuuchi carefully stood up.

"Yuuchi! Sora!" Nanmimon whispered happily as he and Biyomon approached the glass jar holding their human partners.

"Wow, Sora. You're so...tiny!" Biyomon confessed in awe as she carefully picked up the jar and peered through the glass at Sora and Yuuchi.

"Enough small talk, Biyomon! You gotta unshrink us before Minotaurmon comes back!" Yuuchi shouted.

"But how do we do that, Yuuchi?" Nanmimon asked curiously.

"The pouch, over there on the ground!" Sora shouted as she pointed at the black pouch lying on the ground. "There's another crystal in there that reverses shrinking!"

"Are you sure, Sora?" Biyomon asked curiously.

"Yeah, we overheard Minotaurmon talking about it," Yuuchi revealed.

"I'll get it," Nanmimon announced as he picked up the pouch with his teeth and shook it, causing the aqua blue crystal to fall out of the pouch and land on the ground.

"Hurry and use it on us!" Sora shouted as Biyomon picked up the crystal with her free paw.

"Nothing's happening, Sora," Biyomon reluctantly admitted as she shook the crystal.

"Maybe it only works with sunlight," Yuuchi suggested.

"You're right, Yuuchi!" Sora admitted. "It was pretty bold of Minotaurmon to go after us in broad daylight. He would probably prefer to go after us at night, when we're sleeping, but since these crystals only work in sunlight, he didn't have a choice."

"But the sun won't come out for another hour!" Nanmimon announced as he looked up at the night sky, which was starting to get lighter.

"We better get away from here, Nanmimon," Biyomon suggested as she opened the jar and let Sora and Yuuchi climb out of the jar onto her paw. "Minotaurmon might come back any minute!"

"He already has," a familiar voice retorted from behind Biyomon and Nanmimon.

"Uh-oh!" Biyomon and Nanmimon muttered nervously as they slowly turned around. The two Digimon gasped loudly when they saw Minotaurmon towering above them.

"It would be wise, little Digimon, if you gave me back the crystals and your little friends before I clobber you!" Minotaurmon demanded as he glared sinisterly at Biyomon and Nanmimon.

"No way! Let's get out of here!" Biyomon shouted as she ran away from Minotaurmon, while carrying Sora, Yuuchi, and the aqua blue crystal in one paw.

"Wait for me, Biyomon!" Nanmimon shouted as he galloped after Biyomon.

"Quick, behind here!" Biyomon instructed as she ran behind a nearby tree. Nanmimon quickly joined Biyomon behind the large tree. In the distance, Biyomon, Nanmimon, Sora, and Yuuchi could hear Minotaurmon shouting threateningly while he searched for them.

"Nanmimon, you take Sora, Yuuchi, and the crystal, and make a run for it. I'll distract Minotaurmon," Biyomon whispered as she watched Minotaurmon come into view.

"And leave you to fight that big bull all by yourself?" Nanmimon asked with a worried glance. "I don't know about this, Biyomon."

"It's all right, Nanmimon. Don't worry about me, just get them out of here," Biyomon whispered. Nanmimon hesitantly nodded his head with a reluctant sigh. "All right, Biyomon, I'll do it."

"There you go, Sora," Biyomon whispered as she gently placed Sora and Yuuchi on Nanmimon's back.

"I'll be back soon, Biyomon," Nanmimon promised as he started to turn around.

"Wait a minute, Nanmimon. Don't forget this," Biyomon whispered as she held out the blue crystal. Nanmimon quickly picked up the crystal from Biyomon's paw with his mouth.

"Hold on, guys!" Nanmimon instructed in a muffled voice. Yuuchi and Sora both grabbed tufts of Nanmimon's thick hair before he ran off into the forest.

Biyomon waited for Nanmimon to disappear in the thicket of trees before she finally came out of hiding. "Hey, Minotaurmon!" Minotaurmon turned around and glared at the pink bird-type Digimon.

"There's no way I'm going to let you get my friends! Spiral Twister!" Biyomon shouted...

Meanwhile, Nanmimon was still running through the forest with his two tiny passengers on his back.

"Hey, Nanmimon, look! The sun's starting to come up! You can return us back to normal size!" Yuuchi shouted as he pointed at the sun, which was barely poking up above the trees.

"Okay, I'll try, Yuuchi. You'll have to get off of my back first," Nanmimon mumbled loudly with the crystal still in his mouth.

Nanmimon bent down on all fours so Yuuchi and Sora could slide off. Once the two Digi-Destined kids were on the ground, Nanmimon held up the aqua blue-tinted crystal in the air with his mouth. The rays of the rising sun struck the crystal, creating a beam of pale blue light. The pale blue light struck both Sora and Yuuchi, and gradually returned them back to their normal sizes.

"Yeah! Way to go, Nanmimon!" Yuuchi admitted gratefully.

"There's no time to waste, guys. Biyomon is still by herself with Minotaurmon," Sora announced.

"You better digivolve, Nanmimon," Yuuchi told his Digimon.

"Right," Nanmimon agreed as he stepped back. "Nanmimon digivolve to...Neo Nanmimon!"

As soon as he finished digivolving, Neo Nanmimon knelt down once again and announced, "Sora, Yuuchi, get on my back!" Yuuchi quickly hoisted himself onto Neo Nanmimon's back with both hands.

"Here, Sora, take my hand," Yuuchi offered as he helped pull Sora up on Neo Nanmimon's back.

"Hang on, you two!" Neo Nanmimon warned his two passengers as he turned around and galloped through the forest back to where they left Biyomon and Minotaurmon.

"Hi-ho, Silver, away!" Yuuchi shouted loudly as he, Sora, and Neo Nanmimon made their way through the forest

"What are you talking about, Yuuchi?" Neo Nanmimon asked curiously. "My name's not 'Hi-ho, Silver.' It's Neo Nanmimon." Yuuchi groaned a bit as he shook his head out of disappointment.

"Look, there they are!" Sora shouted as she pointed at Biyomon and Minotaurmon fighting in the distance.

"Spiral Twister!" Biyomon shouted, firing another spiral of green energy at Minotaurmon. The bull-type Digimon used his ax to block the attack.

"Blind Rage!" Minotaurmon shouted. Biyomon gasped when she saw the boomerang of yellow energy heading towards her. She quickly flapped her wings and flew up in the air, barely avoiding Minotaurmon's attack.

"Hang on, Biyomon! We're coming!" Sora shouted. Biyomon turned her head and gasped slightly out of relief when she saw Sora back to her normal size, along with Yuuchi, both riding on Neo Nanmimon.

"Sora! You're big again!" Biyomon exclaimed a bit happily. With her attention focused on her friends, Minotaurmon took this opportunity to do a sneak attack.

"Grappling Chain!" Minotaurmon shouted.

"Biyomon, look out!" Sora shouted when she saw the long length of chain sailing towards her Digimon. Biyomon turned back around to face Minotaurmon, but it was too late.

"Ahh!" Biyomon screamed as the chain wrapped tightly around her body and wings, causing her to crash down to the ground.

"You gotta help her, Neo Nanmimon!" Yuuchi announced.

"I'm on it, Yuuchi! Psychic Blast!" Neo Nanmimon shouted. The blast of psychic energy from Neo Nanmimon's eyes struck the middle of the long chain, breaking it in half.

"You guys better get off now!" Neo Nanmimon instructed.

"Biyomon!" Sora cried out as she jumped off of Neo Nanmimon's back and ran to her Digimon's side, along with Yuuchi, while Neo Nanmimon ran off to fight Minotaurmon.

"Are you okay, Biyomon?" Sora asked curiously as she and Yuuchi quickly removed the chains from Sora's Digimon.

"I think so," Biyomon mumbled a bit weakly as she sat up with Sora's help.

"Go, Neo Nanmimon!" Yuuchi cheered on his Digimon, who managed to leap out of the way of Minotaurmon's Grappling Chain attack.

"Psychic Blast!" Neo Nanmimon shouted as he released another blast of psychic energy at the bull-type Digimon. The attack struck Minotaurmon hard in the stomach, causing him to fall to one knee.

"Have you had enough, Minotaurmon, or do you want some more?" Neo Nanmimon asked as he took a step towards the fallen bull-type Digimon.

"Actually, I was about to ask you the same thing," Minotaurmon retorted as he stood back up with his ax clenched tightly in his paw. "Blind Rage!"

"Neo Nanmimon, no!" Yuuchi shouted as he helplessly watched the boomerang of yellow energy strike his Digimon right in the head, knocking him down on all fours.

"Hang on, Neo Nanmimon! I'm coming!" Biyomon announced as she slowly stood up on her own.

"Are you sure you can fight now, Biyomon?" Sora asked a bit worriedly.

"Don't worry about me, Sora. I can handle it," Biyomon reassured Sora as she flew towards Minotaurmon and Neo Nanmimon. "Biyomon digivolve to...Birdramon!"

"So, Birdramon, you're back for more?" Minotaurmon asked sarcastically as the large fiery bird-type Digimon landed next to Yuuchi's Digimon. Birdramon apparently ignored Minotaurmon's question as she glanced down at Neo Nanmimon.

"Are you all right, Neo Nanmimon?" Birdramon asked.

"Yeah, I think so," Neo Nanmimon replied as he slowly got back up.

"Then let's take care of this overgrown bull!" Birdramon announced as she flew up in the air. "Meteor Wing!"

"Psychic Blast!" Neo Nanmimon shouted. The two combined attacks struck Minotaurmon simultaneously, forcing Minotaurmon into a large tree. Minotaurmon groaned out of pain as he struggled to stand up.

"Now, are you ready to give up?" Neo Nanmimon demanded as he and Birdramon edged closer to the fallen bull-type Digimon.

Minotaurmon slowly lifted his head, narrowed his eyes, and muttered, "I'll never give up to the likes of you!" With that, Minotaurmon quickly got up and made a run for it.

"Not so fast, Minotaurmon!" Birdramon shouted as she and Neo Nanmimon started to give chase.

"No, guys, wait!" Sora shouted. Upon hearing Sora, the two Digimon stopped pursuing the retreating Minotaurmon.

"What for?" Neo Nanmimon asked curiously as he and Birdramon turned around to face their human partners.

"Minotaurmon gave up, so there's no need to go after him," Sora explained. "Besides, I'm sure we'll run into him again sooner or later."

"In Minotaurmon's case, I'd prefer later over sooner any day!" Yuuchi retorted.

"Oh, Yuuchi!" Sora replied with a slight laugh...

"Minotaurmon, how dare you show your face here!" Armaggedamon shouted angrily, his red eyes glowing like fire. He was glaring down at the bull-type Digimon, who was kneeling down in front of his throne with his head bowed down.

"Please forgive me, Lord Armaggedamon," Minotaurmon pleaded, who was too afraid to look up at Armaggedamon's glowing red eyes.

"Not only have you failed to retrieve the two Digi-Destined children you were assigned, but you also lost those rare crystals! They're irreplaceable!" Armaggedamon shouted, his voice growing angrier with every word he spoke.

"I'm sorry, Lord Armaggedamon," Minotaurmon apologized.

"I warned you about what would happen if you failed me, Minotaurmon!" Armaggedamon announced as he snapped his fingers. Instantly, two Bakemon appeared on either side of Armaggedamon's throne.

"Bakemon, escort Minotaurmon to the dungeon!" Armaggedamon ordered the Bakemon.

The two ghost-type Digimon silently nodded their heads as they floated towards Minotaurmon. The bull-type Digimon immediately stood up, turned around, and headed back down the hall, with the Bakemon floating on either side of him. Armageddon then turned his attention to the other Digimon standing in the shadows of the hallway.

"The time has come to double our efforts! I want those Digi-Destined brats captured now!" Armaggedamon ordered his evil Digimon army...TO BE CONTINUED


	14. Have Faith, Metal Panthramon

FROM THE DEPTHS

**Part 14: Have Faith, Metal Panthramon  
**  
"I think we've been here before, Cheetamon," Zack noted quietly as he glanced around at the surrounding trees with a wary look on his face. It had been a few days now since they drifted away from Mamemon City. Zack and Cheetamon had been wandering around ever since they escaped from that bubble.

"I think you're right, Zack," Cheetamon agreed. "That tree does look very familiar. Then again, it looks like all the other trees in this forest."

"It's official, Cheetamon. We're lost," Zack retorted under his breath as he sat down and leaned his back against a nearby tree.

"What about that thing over there? That doesn't look like a tree to me, Zack," Cheetamon announced, pointing at a tall figure that had mysteriously appeared in the cluster of trees, with its back towards them. Zack followed his Digimon's gaze, his face paling slightly as he eyed the creature that Cheetamon was pointing at.

"That is definitely not a tree, Cheetamon. It looks like a Digimon, a really big Digimon! It's probably not very friendly, either," Zack muttered nervously as he slowly stood up, gulping nervously as he stared at the tall Digimon.

Just then, the strange Digimon suddenly turned around and stared menacingly at Zack and Cheetamon with its glowing pale blue eyes.

"I think now would be a good time to get out of here!" Zack shouted as he quickly turned around and ran away from the Digimon.

"Zack! Hold on!" Cheetamon shouted. The small Digimon gave one look at the other, much taller Digimon and chuckled nervously before he turned around and ran away as well.

"Hey, Zack! Wait for me!" Cheetamon soon caught up with his human partner, who had a good head ahead of him.

"Did we…lose that…thing?" Zack panted as he continued running.

"I don't…know, Zack," Cheetamon gasped as he looked over his shoulder. He gasped loudly when he saw that the mysterious Digimon was indeed following them and was slowly getting closer to them.

"Oh, yeah! He's definitely following us!" Cheetamon shouted.

"Oh, man! What are we gonna do? SOMEBODY HELP US!" Zack shouted at the top of his lungs, silently hoping that someone would hear him…

"Hello! Is there anyone out there?" Izzy shouted as he walked down the small trail in the forest, with Motimon hopping alongside him.

"Do you think we'll find anyone today, Izzy?" Motimon asked curiously. "We haven't seen any of our friends for days!"

"I know, Motimon," Izzy muttered out loud as he studied the digivice in his hand. "Don't worry, we'll find them. We've been through worse odds than this." Suddenly, the digivice started to beep as a red dot appeared on the tiny screen.

"Hold on a nanosecond. I'm picking up a strong reading coming from that direction!" Izzy announced as he pointed at a large mass of brush in front of him and Motimon. Just then, some rustling noises were heard from right behind the bushes.

"W-What was that?" Motimon asked a bit nervously.

"Looks like we'll soon find out," Izzy muttered out loud when he saw the brush moving slightly. A few moments later, a familiar girl dressed in a pink cowgirl's dress with a light pink hat stepped out of the bushes, followed by her plant-type Digimon.

"Mimi! Palmon!" Izzy exclaimed happily.

"Izzy! I'm so happy to see you! I thought that I would have to wander around in this forest all by myself, and all in my brand new dress!" Mimi whined as she wriggled around a bit in disgust.

"But, Mimi, I thought you said that you got that dress a few weeks ago?" Palmon asked curiously.

Before Mimi got the chance to answer Palmon's question, the silence was suddenly shattered by a familiar voice screaming, "SOMEBODY HELP US!"

"Hey, that sounded like Zack!" Palmon announced. At that very moment, Izzy and Mimi looked up at the surrounding forest and could barely make out two figures running towards them.

"That is Zack and Cheetamon," Izzy realized when he recognized the two figures. Suddenly, to Izzy and Mimi's surprise, Zack and Cheetamon ran right past them without a second look.

"Hey! What's your hurry?" Mimi shouted loudly.

"Huh?" Zack gasped as he quickly skidded to a stop. Not being able to stop himself in time, Cheetamon ended up crashing into Zack, knocking them both to the ground.

"Izzy! Mimi! Boy, am I glad to see you!" Zack exclaimed as he and Cheetamon quickly got up. "We gotta get out of here now!"

"What for?" Izzy asked curiously.

"There's this really big Digimon after us!" Cheetamon quickly explained.

"You forgot to mention scary to that description, Cheetamon!" Zack pointed out. Suddenly, the three Digi-Destined kids and their Digimon could clearly hear loud footsteps crashing through the forest, heading right for them.

"That doesn't sound very friendly to me!" Mimi gasped loudly.

"I definitely agree with you, Mimi!" Izzy admitted.

"Don't worry! We'll take care of that big bully!" Motimon announced as he hopped forward. "Motimon digivolve to…Tentomon."

"Get ready, everyone. Here he comes!" Cheetamon announced as the footsteps drew closer. Tentomon and Palmon nodded in agreement as they stood ready to fight the mysterious enemy. The three Digimon soon saw the Digimon's silhouette appear within the trees.

"What?" Palmon and Tentomon gasped simultaneously.

"Huh?" Mimi and Izzy gasped.

"What's wrong with them? Why aren't they attacking?" Zack asked suspiciously.

"It's okay, Zack. It's just Andromon," Izzy explained as the tall android-type Digimon stepped out into the light.

"Andromon?" Zack and Cheetamon exclaimed simultaneously.

"Yeah, Zack. We met him a long time when we first came to File Island," Mimi revealed as she remembered the first time that she and her friends met the android-type Digimon. "Andromon was living in this old factory where he attacked us, but it wasn't his fault because he had one of those icky black gears stuck inside of him."

"And he also helped us in the defeat of the most difficult Dark Master we had to face, Piedmon," Izzy added.

"So, the stories are true. You have returned to the Digiworld," Andromon muttered out loud.

"It's good to see you again, Andromon," Izzy confessed.

"Good to see you again, too, Izzy and Mimi," Andromon admitted. He then turned his attention to Zack and Cheetamon. "I must apologize for frightening you two. I didn't mean to scare you. I didn't know that you were one of the Digi-Destined," Andromon apologized sincerely.

"It's no big deal, Andromon," Zack replied.

"I have heard that there were four new children joining the eight original Digi-Destined, but I wasn't certain if that was true, until now," Andromon confessed.

"Yeah, it sure is, Andromon. I'm Zack, and this is my pal, Cheetamon," Zack introduced himself and his Digimon.

"A pleasure to make your acquaintance," Andromon admitted.

"This is so great, running into old friends," Mimi confessed happily.

"It most certainly is," Izzy agreed.

"I must admit, it's good to see you two again as well, but I strongly suggest that we keep moving," Andromon announced.

"What for, Andromon?" Cheetamon asked curiously.

"I've recently received word that Megadramon has been spotted in the immediate area. He works for Armaggedamon and is searching for you and your friends as we speak," Andromon explained.

"Uh-oh! That's not good!" Tentomon reluctantly admitted.

"Who's this Megadramon?" Zack asked curiously, although deep inside, he didn't really want to hear the answer.

"Megadramon…now why does that name sound so familiar?" Mimi wondered out loud.

"I can explain that for you, Mimi. He was one of the two Digimon we came up against before defeating Machinedramon. You weren't there because, at the time, you, Joe, and Matt were separated from the rest of the group," Izzy explained as he recalled the events of that day. "From what I remember, Megadramon was as equally dangerous as Machinedramon, despite the fact that Machinedramon was a level higher than Megadramon."

"If that's the case, then we should do what Andromon said and keep moving," Zack confessed a bit nervously. Just then, a loud roar interrupted the silence of the surrounding forest.

"I'm afraid we won't get the opportunity, Zack! Look!" Izzy shouted as he pointed up at the sky.

Zack and Cheetamon both looked up and gasped loudly when they saw the huge Digimon flying high in the sky. The flying Digimon looked very much like Metal Greymon; only it had a long serpent-like tail instead of two legs and no noticeable stripes on his body. Megadramon's purple wings were much larger than Metal Greymon's wings, and his long hair poking out of the back of his metal helmet was also purple. He also had two large cannons on both arms, each with three large metal claws extending from them.

"Oh, boy! That Digimon's got bad news written all over it!" Zack muttered out loud.

"Looks like he's flying right past us, Zack. I don't think he even saw us," Cheetamon reassured his human partner.

Suddenly, Megadramon swooped down towards the three Digi-Destined kids and the four Digimon, and fired one of his cannons at them, shooting out a powerful blast of flames.

"Watch it!" Izzy shouted as he, Tentomon, Mimi, Palmon, Zack, Cheetamon, and Andromon quickly ducked behind the surrounding trees, barely avoiding the fiery blast.

"Looks like you're wrong, Cheetamon. Megadramon did see us," Zack remarked.

"We'll take care of that bully!" Tentomon boasted as he came out of hiding, along with Palmon. "Tentomon digivolve to…Kabuterimon!"

"Palmon digivolve to…Togemon!"

"Hey, don't forget me!" Cheetamon shouted as he also came out of hiding. "Cheetamon digivolve to…Panthramon!"

"I'll help, too!" Andromon added as he and the three Champion Digimon stood ready to attack Megadramon.

"How's about some Needle Spray!" Togemon shouted as she fired several needles up in the air at the flying Ultimate Digimon.

Megadramon groaned slightly out of pain as the multiple sharp needles struck him all over his body. As soon as he recovered, Megadramon flew higher in the air in order to avoid another attack from Togemon.

"Now it's my turn!" Kabuterimon announced as he took off after Megadramon. "Electro Shocker!"

The large ball of electricity struck Megadramon in the back, directly in between his wings. Megadramon roared loudly as he plummeted down to the ground. Before he ended up crashing into the ground, Megadramon quickly flapped his wings and glided over the surface of the ground by just a couple of feet, kicking up a large cloud of dust in the process.

"Aww, man!" Zack complained as he, Izzy, and Mimi violently coughed from the thick cloud of dust surrounding them.

"Hold on, everyone!" Togemon instructed as she rapidly spun around like a top, causing the dust to gather into a miniature tornado and disperse up in the sky.

"Togemon, look out!" Mimi gasped loudly when she saw Megadramon swooping down to attack the huge cactus-type Digimon.

"I got him! Razor Claw!" Panthramon shouted as he leapt up in the air towards Megadramon, with his long razor sharp claws extended. Before Panthramon could reach him, Megadramon fired two fiery blasts from both of his cannons, engulfing Panthramon in a giant ball of fire.

"Panthramon!" Zack shouted as he watched his Digimon plummet to the ground, his black fur singed from Megadramon's fiery attack. He quickly ran to Panthramon's side.

"Panthramon, speak to me! Are you all right?"

"I've been better," Panthramon growled as he slowly opened his eyes and looked at his human partner.

"Lightning Blade!" Andromon shouted as his right hand turned into a large black spike. Andromon quickly fired a blast of light indigo-colored energy from the spike up at Megadramon. Through some fancy flying maneuvers, Megadramon managed to avoid Andromon's attack.

"Electro Shocker!" Kabuterimon shouted as he fired another ball of electricity at the evil flying Digimon. Megadramon quickly turned around and fired both arm cannons at the incoming ball of electricity, completely disintegrating Kabuterimon's attack.

"This Megadramon is putting up a pretty good fight," Izzy muttered a bit worriedly. "I'm not certain that we can defeat him."

"I'll get that flying lizard!" Panthramon announced as he struggled to stand up, but ended up falling back down.

"Panthramon, don't! You're still weak from that last hit!" Zack pleaded.

"But, Zack…they need my help!" Panthramon argued. Zack looked up and saw that Togemon and Kabuterimon were indeed showing signs of fatigue.

"Gatling Attack!" Andromon shouted as his steel chest plates opened up and fired two identical orange missiles at Megadramon. Before the missiles reached him, Megadramon quickly spun around in the air and, using his tail like a whip, knocked the missiles away from him.

"Mimi! Izzy! Look out!" Zack shouted when he realized that both missiles were making a beeline towards his two friends.

"Ahh!" Mimi and Izzy gasped simultaneously when they saw the two huge missiles heading straight at them.

"Izzy, hold on! I'm coming!" Kabuterimon shouted as he quickly dove down to the ground and landed next to Togemon, who was also acting as a shield for Mimi and Izzy.

"Togemon, be careful!" Mimi pleaded.

Both Togemon and Kabuterimon held their ground as the missiles collided with them, exploding on contact.

"AHH!" Mimi and Izzy screamed as the force of the explosion knocked them back a few feet. The two kids quickly looked up and gasped loudly out of shock when they saw Tentomon and Palmon lying on the ground, both out like lights.

"Tentomon!" Izzy shouted as he and Mimi ran to their Digimon's side.

"Palmon, please speak to me!" Mimi pleaded as she held Palmon in her lap.

"Aww, man! Looks like Tentomon and Palmon are out for the count!" Zack realized.

"Now it's my turn to get back in the ring and knock out Megadramon!" Panthramon growled as he once again tried to get back up.

"But, Panthramon, you might get hurt again, or worse," Zack started to protest.

"I have no choice, Zack. Besides Andromon, I'm the only one left," Panthramon pointed out as he managed to stand up.

"I don't know about this…" Zack trailed off worriedly.

"Zack, remember what I told you a long time ago when we fought Metal Shellmon?" Panthramon asked. "I told you that you just needed to have a little faith in me. Don't start doubting me now, Zack."

"You're right, Panthramon," Zack admitted. "I'm sorry I ever doubted you for a second. If I don't have faith in my own Digimon, then there would be no point in me being here in the first place. I promise that I'll never lose faith in you again, Panthramon."

Suddenly, Zack felt a strange vibration coming from his pocket. He looked down and gasped loudly when he saw his crest glowing right through his T-shirt, radiating a cerulean blue glow. Out of curiosity, he took out his digivice and saw that it was vibrating like crazy and had changed in color from white to cerulean blue.

"What's going on?" Zack asked himself as he looked up at Panthramon. He gasped loudly when he saw that his Digimon was bathed in a white light. Zack shielded his eyes with his arm and stepped back as the white light completely engulfed Panthramon.

"Panthramon digivolve to…Metal Panthramon!"

"Whoa!" Zack gasped slowly out of astonishment as he stared at the newly evolved Digimon standing on his hind legs, who was well over double the size of Panthramon.

All four of Metal Panthramon's legs were completely metal, almost robotic looking, with the gold bracelets now fused to his front paws. Metal Panthramon also had a red metal plate covering the top of his head where the red gem used to be. In addition, Metal Panthramon had many metal plates scattered along the back of his neck, down his back, and on his tail, and a pair of long silver-embossed sword blades protruding from his back, along with a large metal jet pack.

"What just happened here?" Zack asked out loud as Izzy, Tentomon, Mimi, and Palmon joined him.

"Congratulations, Zack. Your Digimon has just digivolved to the next level," Izzy explained as he sat down and opened up his laptop.

"What are you doing, Izzy?" Zack asked curiously as he turned around.

"I'm checking out your newly evolved Digimon on my Digimon Analyzer," Izzy explained as he typed away on his laptop. "Here he is! Metal Panthramon: the Ultimate level of Cheetamon. He has the ability to fly, courtesy of a jet pack attached to his back. Metal Panthramon's Ultimate attack is Panthra Blast, a powerful blast that generates over one million mega volts of electricity!"

"A million mega volts, Izzy? Oh, boy! Megadramon's gonna get a real charge out of that!" Zack remarked.

The three Digi-Destined kids looked up at Metal Panthramon as his jet pack fired up and he rose up in the air towards Megadramon. The flying Digimon growled angrily as he fired fiery blasts from both arm cannons at Metal Panthramon.

"Look out, Metal Panthramon!" Zack shouted as the flames engulfed his Digimon. To everyone's surprise, Metal Panthramon came out of the ball of fire without a scratch on him. He tried to punch Megadramon, but he missed and flew past the evil Digimon.

"Andromon, we'll attack together. Are you ready?" Metal Panthramon asked as he quickly turned around.

"Certainly, Metal Panthramon. Lightning Blade!" Andromon shouted as he fired another blast of light indigo-colored energy at Megadramon.

"Panthra Blast!" Metal Panthramon shouted as he held his robotic paws together in front of him.

The gold bracelets on Metal Panthramon's wrists started to glow bright yellow as a large ball of electricity started to gather in his paws. Once the ball of electricity was the size of a beach ball, Metal Panthramon fired a powerful blast of electricity at Megadramon. The flying Digimon emitted a loud, pain-filled screech as both Andromon and Metal Panthramon's attacks struck him hard, causing him to disintegrate.

"Wahoo! Way to go, Metal Panthramon!" Zack cheered loudly as Metal Panthramon landed back on the ground. Metal Panthramon turned around and joined Zack, Izzy, Tentomon, Mimi, Palmon, and Andromon.

"I couldn't have done it without your help, Zack," Metal Panthramon growled softly with a smile.

Suddenly, a white light completely engulfed Metal Panthramon, causing him to shrink. When Zack eventually opened his eyes, he saw Cubmon sitting where Metal Panthramon once stood.

"Cubmon, are you okay?" Zack asked out of concern as he scooped up the little Digimon in his arms.

"Yeah, I'm all right, Zack. Just a little tired," Cubmon replied with a long yawn.

"Guess I can't blame you for being tired, Cubmon. You put up quite a fight there, little guy," Zack openly confessed.

"That was quite exceptional, Zack," Izzy agreed.

"So, what do we do now?" Mimi asked curiously.

"We go look for our friends now, that's what, Mimi," Zack announced, catching Izzy and Mimi by surprise.

"You know, I believe this is the first time since we've been here that you referred to us as your friends, Zack," Izzy pointed out.

"Yeah, well…I guess I'm learning to like you guys," Zack reluctantly admitted with a nervous chuckle.

"If you wish, I can join you until you find more of your friends," Andromon offered.

"That would be great!" Mimi gushed out.

"Thanks, Andromon," Palmon admitted.

"We could definitely use the company," Izzy added as the group of seven started heading deeper into the dense forest…

"WHAT? I DON'T BELIEVE THIS!" Armaggedamon screamed angrily, his eyes glowing a bright fiery red. He had just witnessed the destruction of Megadramon via the monitor in his headquarters.

Armaggedamon soon calmed down after a few moments had passed. He glared around at the Digimon gathered in the hallway in front of him. "In a way, Megadramon was lucky. If he had returned here empty handed, I would have destroyed him myself! The Digimon are growing more powerful with each passing day. Two of the four new Digimon have already reached Ultimate level. We cannot allow them to gain more power! Is that understood?"

"Yes, Lord Armaggedamon!" the Digimon in the dark hallway agreed simultaneously as they all nodded their heads in agreement.

"With Houdinimon in hiding, and two of my loyal servants destroyed, I need to get on those meddlesome children before they reunite. But how? Hmm…" Armaggedamon murmured thoughtfully to himself as a plan slowly formulated in his head. He turned his attention to a massive crimson red-winged Digimon in the back of the hallway.

The Digimon that Armaggedamon had his eye on had a blue head, ears, and tail, off-white arms, legs, and stomach, with the exception of a blue V on its stomach. It also had long gray claws protruding from its fingers and toes, long gray spikes protruding from its elbows, a pair of gray shoulder plates covering its shoulders, a gray snout with a long horn, and a pair of long dark gray horns protruding from the back of its head.

"Aeroveedramon, come here!" Armaggedamon commanded.

"Yes, Lord Armaggedamon," Aeroveedramon replied as he walked down the hall to Armaggedamon's throne, his thundering footsteps causing the room to vibrate slightly.

"What do you need me to do for you, Lord Armaggedamon?" Aeroveedramon asked as he knelt down and bowed respectively to Armaggedamon.

"I need you to go to Mamemon City immediately and get the Mamemon Brothers for me, Aeroveedramon. Bring them here at once!" Armaggedamon ordered.

"Right away, Lord Armaggedamon. Consider it done," Aeroveedramon agreed as he turned around and headed back down the hall…TO BE CONTINUED


End file.
